Transcendent
by TitansRule
Summary: Transcendent. adj. 1a exceeding usual limits, surpassing; b beyond the limit of ordinary experience. The Mikaelsons face another family showdown. Sophie and Davina try to build bridges with the coven. Matt and Aiden face the challenges of being in love with an immortal. And Caroline learns that being a mother to a Mikaelson witch is not always plain sailing. Sequel to Treachery.
1. Chapter 1

**This follows on from Treachery - if you haven't read that, you will be lost! You don't necessarily need to have read the fics before if you don't want to, but you may have noticed that this is AU as of the end of Season 3 of TVD - there are elements of the later seasons and of TO but don't come here expecting canon.**

* * *

Hope's first Christmas was not the magical experience Caroline had been hoping for her daughter. She had done her best, putting up a tree, and decorations, and a little stocking for all members of the family, but the stifling fear of Dahlia seemed to be suffocating them.

The fact that no one knew if Dahlia looked like, or even if she was still alive, was not helping with the overall tension in the house.

Having returned to Virginia, Bonnie and the others were carrying out their own research, but they had not managed to get any further forward.

The tension in the house meant that Sophie found the hectic lunch and dinner rushes at Rousseau's a welcome break.

One particularly busy evening in January, she had just delivered a plate to the hatch and was about to ring the bell for service when Cami beat her to it.

"There's a woman called Madeleine who's looking for you," she said brusquely. "What do you want me to say?"

"I'm on break in five minutes," Sophie answered, a little taken aback. "I'll meet her in the alleyway."

Cami nodded, disappearing into the crowd again with the next order.

Distracted, Sophie only just managed to get through the next five minutes without causing any accidents. She and Davina had been welcomed back into the coven since Esther had been exposed - although Davina was still skittish and would not go anywhere near the cemetery without Sophie - but it was still unlikely for one of the elders to seek her out.

Even if this elder wasn't much older than Sophie herself.

In fact, Madeleine and Sophie had grown up together, learnt magic together - and absolutely hated each other when they were children.

Now they were adults, as so often is the case, they had come to realise that their reasons for disliking each other were so petty that neither could remember what they were.

So when Sophie stepped out of the back door into the alleyway to see Madeleine waiting for her, she greeted her with a smile and a brief hug.

"What's wrong?"

Madeleine gave her a strained smile. "Clearly we need to socialise more often so you don't immediately think of a catastrophe when you see me."

Sophie frowned. "Even if we did, you turning up like this would be unusual. And I can tell by your expression that something's wrong."

"Do we know why Esther did what she did?" Madeleine asked.

Sophie hesitated. "Hasn't Caroline told you?"

"No," Madeleine answered. "Then again, I haven't asked."

"I think she's hoping the less times she says it, the less true it will be," Sophie said with a sigh. "To cut a long story short, Esther once bargained her first born and the first born of every subsequent generation to her sister in exchange for a spell. And now she wants her first-born back."

"But that would …" Madeleine shook her head. "Surely both the sister and the daughter would be dead by now."

"Yes," Sophie agreed. "But, as Matt said, so should Esther."

Madeleine opened her mouth, possibly to argue the point, and then paused. "He may have a point."

Sophie hummed in agreement, brushing her hand over the flowers that sat on the little memorial she had created for her sister. They shivered and the blossoms slowly bloomed again. "How's Monique?"

Madeleine sighed. "No change, I'm afraid. We're having to keep all three of them under constant watch; they're still like zombies created to do Esther's bidding."

Sophie shuddered at the thought. "But they're not, are they? I mean, Davina woke up properly."

"Oh, no, they're definitely alive," Madeleine said hastily. "Just not … themselves."

Sophie nodded, taking a deep breath to settle herself. "So what was the other reason?"

"Other reason?"

Sophie smiled. "Maddi, you could have waited for the next coven meeting to ask me if we knew what Esther was up to. What was so urgent that you needed to meet me now?"

Madeleine sighed. "Madame LaRue wants to meet Hope."

* * *

"Who is Madame LaRue?"

Sophie pinched the bridge of her nose. She had only been home for a few minutes and she already had a headache.

Klaus's immediate reaction to Madeleine's request was a resounding no; Caroline had only just asked the somewhat important question.

"She's the Elder of the Elders," she answered tiredly. "The Regent of the Nine Covens. She doesn't get involved in the day-to-day running of any of the covens - she's like a hundred or something so she just stays at home and meditates - she didn't know about Esther or the Harvest or anything like that. She's only just found out now that the ancestors are back online so to speak, and she summoned the elders to explain themselves."

"And now she wants to meet Hope," Caroline clarified.

Sophie nodded. "It's tradition that she meets new members of the coven."

"Absolutely not," Klaus said immediately.

Sophie grimaced. "I completely get why you're reluctant. But she's going to take it as an insult."

"Can she come here?" Caroline asked.

"I don't think so," Sophie said. "I haven't seen her in several years, but I don't think she's strong enough to leave the house like that."

"I suppose she's not going to be happy if Klaus or I come along," Caroline said, shifting Hope to her shoulder as she started fussing.

"Probably not," Davina said from the doorway. "But I've had my own summons, so I'm about to go and see her. I'll see if I can find out what she wants and how far we can push it."

"Thank you, Davina," Klaus said. "If we can come to some sort of compromise, that will probably be best."

Caroline blinked. "Okay, who are you and what have you done with Klaus Mikaelson?"

"Politics, love," Klaus said. "It never changes."

* * *

The closer Davina got to the cottage, the less confident she felt. She hadn't met with any member of the coven without Sophie and this was an important meeting; however that was how this worked.

If Madame LaRue summoned you, you went alone.

The door was opened by a woman not much older than Davina herself, presumably Madame LaRue's nurse.

"Good afternoon," Davina said, trying to remember the wording she had been taught as a child. "Davina Claire to see Madame LaRue as per her summons this afternoon."

The woman smiled. "Not quite but close enough - I won't tell anyone. Come in. I should warn you," she added, closing the door behind Davina, "your mother's here."

Davina froze, blood roaring in her ears. She hadn't seen her mother since the day she died, and she hadn't been intending on doing so any time soon.

Hands grasped her shoulders and she forced herself to meet the nurse's eyes.

"Deep breaths, Davina," she said soothingly. "She was not invited, and Madame is not happy. She told me to tell you that she is happy for you to be as rude to your mother as you wish to be."

Davina managed a small smile as she slipped her jacket off. She was willing to bet that Joanna Claire had not been happy about that.

Madame Josephine LaRue was not quite as old as Sophie claimed - at least, she didn't look it. The only real sign of her age was her hands, which were curled and swollen with arthritis.

Coven legend held that she had wanted to become a violinist and travel the world, so her mother had cursed her so she could never play again.

Currently, she was seated in an armchair like it was a throne, glaring at Joanna Claire as she stood before her.

"You come here uninvited to beg for my help to restore your daughter to you, and yet you still refuse to admit that your own actions drove her away. Exactly what do you expect me to be able to do?"

The nurse cleared her throat. "Sorry for interrupting, Madame, but Davina Claire is here."

Madame LaRue's eyes softened. "Thank you, Charlotte. Please come in, Davina, and take a seat."

Davina stepped into the room, receiving a squeeze to her hand from Charlotte as she passed, and took the gestured-to armchair beside the Regent. "Good evening, Madame LaRue."

"Davina …" her mother began.

Davina flinched, recognising the tone from childhood scoldings. "I have nothing to say to you, and to have this argument now would be a waste of Madame LaRue's time. I'm sure she has better things to do."

The old lady's eyes twinkled at her, and she relaxed. This was not the terrifying dragon she had heard stories of when she was little. "Well said, my dear. Charlotte, would you please show Ms Claire out?"

Charlotte reappeared at Joanna's side, taking her arm. "Let me help you with your coat."

Joanna didn't move, glaring at her daughter. "Davina, you have chosen vampires over your own mother!"

Davina sighed. "I apologise, Madame, but this needs to be said."

Madame LaRue waved a hand. "Go ahead, my dear."

"I died," Davina said, meeting her mother's eyes. "You let me die. You watched as I died. Okay, you thought I was going to wake up. You believed it was the ancestors you were listening to - I'm prepared to accept that as an excuse. But we didn't wake up. For a few weeks, you all thought something had gone horribly wrong. I was buried away from the plantation house; you knew damn well where the Mikaelsons were, and you didn't once turn up and demand to know where I was or visit. For that matter, Esther tricked you into murdering your own daughter - doesn't that bother you?"

Joanna looked a little taken aback. "Davina … we believed it was the ancestors talking to us. You don't argue."

"But you do show a little common sense and empathy," Madame LaRue said sharply. "Neither of which you seem to have. Charlotte?"

Charlotte tightened her grip on Joanna's arm and escorted her out of the room. A few minutes later, the front door opened and closed.

Davina took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, Madame."

"Quite alright, Davina," Madame LaRue said graciously. "I think you handled yourself with great composure, given the circumstances. Now, first and foremost, please allow me to extend my apologies for your ordeal."

Davina bit back her impulse to reassure and dismiss the apology. "Thank you, Madame LaRue. I appreciate that."

"Had I been consulted, I would have of course counselled against the course of action suggested," Madame LaRue continued, accepting a cup of tea from Charlotte. "Can I offer you some refreshments, my dear?"

"Tea would be lovely, thank you," Davina said to Charlotte with a smile. "Milk and one sugar please."

"It is refreshing to see a young person appreciate a proper cup of tea," Madame LaRue said.

Davina smiled a little sheepishly. "Well, it might sound a bit off, Madame, but Elijah Mikaelson has this thing about afternoon tea. He rounds everyone up every Saturday afternoon. I think he'd do it every day if his siblings didn't put their feet down. So I've learnt to appreciate it."

"While we're on the subject," Madame LaRue said, setting her cup down, "let's talk about the child."


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: I'm trying to keep Hope's progression as natural as possible, so I do keep checking up on age and what she would be able to do. According to my timeline, she was born December 8th 2012, and we're currently late January 2013 so she's about two months old here. If she does appear to be a little advanced for her age, let's chalk it down to a) not all babies progress at the same age and b) magic.**

* * *

Unable to relax until Davina returned, Caroline sat in the nursery window seat, Hope asleep in her arms.

She was drawn from her quiet musing when her daughter stretched, her eyes blinking open.

"Hi sweetheart," Caroline cooed. "Did you have a nice nap?"

Hope squirmed, her eyes falling on the birds swooping past the window. She made the little noise that she made whenever Sophie or Davina did magic where she could see them, so Caroline propped her up a little more so she could see out of the window.

"Is she back yet?"

Caroline glanced over her shoulder. "Not yet."

Klaus came to stand beside them. "What are you doing?"

"She's interested," Caroline said. "Listen to her."

Sure enough, Hope was making little babbling noises, her hands waving at the birds - whether she was doing it intentionally, Caroline wasn't sure, but she was certainly very enthusiastic.

"We have to do something, Nik," Caroline said softly. "We can't stay hidden away in here forever; it's not fair on her."

One of the birds landed on the railing outside the house.

"Ba," Hope said excitedly.

"One of the birds has come to say hello," Caroline said. "Can you say hi?"

"Ba," Hope said again.

Caroline smiled. "Close enough."

"She's too young to talk, right?" Klaus asked.

Caroline nodded. "All babies start making noises like that, it doesn't really mean anything. Or, rather, it means everything. She won't start using proper words for a few more months, and even then it won't necessarily be what she means. The thing is, we have no idea what Dahlia looks like, whether she's alive, or even what she wants. For all we know, she and Freya could turn up and just want to give her a teddy bear or something."

"With our luck?" Klaus asked incredulously.

"Hope's alive and healthy," Caroline said. "That's luck. I survived the birth. That's luck. We do have luck, Nik. It's not good to rely on it, I agree, but we do have it. The thing is, we cannot keep her locked away in this house until she's an adult - babies need the sun, and they need human interaction, and the need fresh air. So our options are send her away …"

"Absolutely not," Klaus said.

"I agree," Caroline said. "The second option is to trust the people around us and try to have a normal life."

Klaus didn't respond and Caroline didn't say anything more, lifting Hope up to see more of the street outside.

"I suppose we do have an army willing to protect her," Klaus said finally.

Caroline smiled. "We do. I'm not implying we drop our guard entirely, but we do need to get on with it. I know that several of the ladies in Jackson's pack have been wanting to come over and meet her, and I've been putting them off because of this. Likewise, most of the vampires know she exists but they've never even seen her. Aside from Hope's needs - which are obviously the most important thing - the more we stay hidden away, the more it looks like we're hiding something, which causes unrest and …"

"Caroline, I agreed with you," Klaus said.

Caroline rolled her eyes. "But I had a whole extra argument prepared for when you inevitably didn't and I didn't want to waste it."

Klaus finally cracked a smile, leaning down to kiss her. "I like surprising you every now and then. What are you thinking?"

"Same as we did with Marcel," Caroline said. "Let's have a party."

"We seem to be going from one extreme to the other," Klaus said.

"If we had never heard of Dahlia, we were going to do that," Caroline said. "Let's face it. Rebekah said that's what people used to do, right? There'd be a christening, and then a huge kind of 'welcome to the world' party."

"I don't think a christening is appropriate," Klaus said. "Assuming you mean the religious ceremony in which we promise before God to lead her into the Church."

Caroline hesitated. She had grown up in such a traditional small town that it was almost unheard of for a child not to be christened.

But Hope was a witch, and Caroline was a vampire, and Klaus was a hybrid.

She was sure Father O'Connell would do it, even knowing about them, but it just felt wrong.

"I agree," she said, "but I do want the party. I trust our security to keep out anyone that's not invited."

A soft tapping noise drew their gaze towards the door.

"How did it go?" Caroline asked.

"As well as it could," Davina said, coming to sit beside her. "She wanted to know how I was, if I was safe, if Hope was safe …"

Klaus bristled, but Caroline reached up to take his hand without looking.

"She's a witch that hates vampires," she said gently. "I can understand her concern."

"I told her the only thing Hope was in danger of was being spoilt rotten," Davina said with a smile, reaching out to touch the baby's hand.

With a smile and a gurgle, Hope reached towards Davina, and Caroline handed her over without hesitation.

Davina placed a kiss on Hope's forehead, smiling as Hope patted her cheek with her little hand. "She's in agreement with the ancestors about Hope being a blessing - she really wants to meet her. She is not willing to have a vampire entering her home, however she understands the need to take precautions and she won't take offence if it can't happen."

"What's your opinion, Davina?" Klaus asked.

"I think she's an elderly lady who wants to meet the new baby," Davina answered. "I think that it would get you a lot of brownie points. Not all of the elders _are_ happy and if you've got her onside, you've won half the battle."

"Then what do you suggest?" Caroline asked. "If she can't come to us, and she won't let us bring Hope to her …"

"Why don't I take her?" Davina asked. "You can send as many people with me as a guard as you like - she's fine for them to be loitering outside. I can assure you that she will be safe inside the house."

The two parents shared a silent look.

Davina gently bounced Hope in her arms as the child began to fidget, perhaps picking up on the increased tension in the room. When that didn't work, she freed one arm and murmured a spell, causing soft coloured lights to trail from her fingers.

Hope immediately settled, her eyes following the light trails.

"Very well," Klaus said eventually - Davina wasn't quite sure when he and Caroline had mastered the art of speaking without saying a word, but they seemed to have done so. "In the spirit of getting on with life, that may be our best option."

* * *

Hope's stroller (which Elijah insisted on calling a perambulator - Kol assured her it was an old English term, but she wasn't convinced) had not been used much, if at all, since it's purchase.

Rather than laying her down flat, it cradled her so she was tilted upwards, something Davina was grateful for now, as when Hope was awake, she did not like lying on her back, and did not hesitate to let everyone know that.

She could understand. It must be terribly frustrating to be wide awake, and hear people and things around you and not be able to see them.

In the carrier she was in now, she was able to look around, her eyes shining as she took in the sights and sounds of the French Quarter.

"This is good for her," Josh murmured beside her.

"It is," Davina agreed, tucking Hope's blanket around her a little more. "There's a whole world out here, isn't there, sweetheart?" She glanced over her shoulder. "Do they need to be so … ominous?"

Caroline and Klaus had opted to remain at the compound, both certain that if the meeting with Madame LaRue took longer than expected, they would not be able to contain their worry if right outside the house.

Instead, while Josh walked alongside Davina, there were six vampires and two hybrids trailing behind them, looking exactly like a team of bodyguards.

Which they were, technically, but it was very off-putting.

Josh grinned. "Guys, do you think you can back off a bit? The whole point is to be there just in case, not to draw attention to her."

Davina didn't look back, but she felt herself relax and guessed that they had drawn back into the crowds a little so they were less conspicuous. "Thank you."

The trip to the small cottage was uneventful. Unlike her last visit, Davina felt her worries subsiding the closer she got.

The magic wrapped around them, settling like a comforting blanket.

At least, that was how it felt to her - judging by the way Josh began to squirm beside her, she guessed it wasn't the same for her companions.

"It's protective," Davina said hastily. "It's not a threat. It just feels like it to you because your vampires and the magic assumes that you're the threat."

"Okay, if you really can't handle it, start falling back and setting up a perimeter," Josh said. "I doubt anything can happen to her inside this."

Josh was easily the youngest of the vampires accompanying her, and yet they all followed his instructions without complaint. Being part of the Mikaelsons' inner circle did wonders for one's credibility.

They reached the cottage just a few moments later, and Davina put the brakes on the stroller. "Okay, sweetheart, are you ready to meet a new person?"

Hope gurgled at her as Davina undid the straps, raising her arms to be picked up.

"Wait a second, honey," Davina said. "I need to get you undone, or the whole stroller's coming with us. There we go." She lifted Hope into her arms, just as the front door to the cottage opened.

Charlotte's face lit up. "Is this her?"

Davina nodded. "This is Hope. We do have company, but most of them are loitering at the edge of the protective spells. Josh is going to wait out here with the stroller, if that's okay."

"Not a problem." Charlotte gave Josh a piercing look, but when she spoke again, it was to Davina. "You trust him?"

"He's my best friend," Davina answered.

Charlotte gave a decisive nod and reached out, touching Josh's forehead and murmuring something under her breath. "I've just told the magic that you're not a threat," she added by way of explanation.

Josh had already relaxed. "Thank you." He unhooked the diaper bag from the stroller and helped Davina get it over her shoulder without dislodging Hope. "Take your time. Yell if you need anything."

Davina smiled. "Thanks Josh."

Charlotte stepped back to let Davina in, closing the door firmly behind her. "He doesn't act much like a vampire."

Davina shrugged. "He's not really used to it, I don't think. Caroline's the same. Their physical appearance still matches their age; I think that helps." She took a deep breath. "Okay. Let's do this."


	3. Chapter 3

Charlotte led her through into the sitting room where Madame LaRue was waiting. This time, she was seated on the couch, clearly so that Davina could sit beside her with Hope.

The old lady's eyes lit up with a kind of joy that instantly reassured Davina that she had made the right choice in talking Klaus and Caroline into this.

"May I present Hope Rebekah Elizabeth Mikaelson," she said, taking the offered seat. "Hope, this is Madame LaRue."

Hope gazed at the old lady with wide eyes, then suddenly smiled, releasing Davina's shirt with one tiny hand to reach out.

Madame LaRue touched her hand gently. "Hello, little one. Are they happy about this or just accepting it?"

Davina smiled. "A little bit of both I think. Caroline seems to have come down from her initial reaction to a state of 'okay, this is happening, we can't hide her away forever'. And Klaus … I'm not completely sure he's on board, but he does trust me to keep her safe and trusts me when I said there was no danger inside this house."

"That takes some doing," Madame LaRue murmured. "I understand he doesn't trust easily."

"That is an understatement," Davina said. "I think the only person he trusts completely is Elijah, and he thinks he's plotting against him half the time." She thought for a second. "Actually, Caroline might be in that group now."

"Good," Madame LaRue said, still smiling at Hope, who was studying her like she was some kind of rare bird.

Apparently, whatever Hope saw, it must have been good, because she let go with her other hand to reach out.

Davina was so surprised, she handed the child over, almost without a thought. While Hope was generally quite happy to be passed from pillar to post, as she got older, she was getting a bit pickier about who held her.

Taking the child into her arms, Madame LaRue tucked her into the crook of her arm, conjuring the same coloured lights that Davina used.

"You've won her over now," Davina said. "She loves those."

"She's very alert," Madame LaRue said. "She's going to be a smart one."

"Maybe a bit too smart if she's anything like her father," Davina said. "Caroline's going to have her hands full."

"You're not going to help her?" Madame LaRue asked, a hint of teasing in her tone.

Davina grinned. "I can't say no to her any more than the others can. Anyway, that's the best part about being an aunt, isn't it?"

Madame LaRue laughed, something that instantly made her look ten years younger.

That wasn't the only thing doing that though, Davina realised, glancing down at the finger Hope's hand was clutched around. "Um, Madame …"

The regent had noticed as well. Gently prising her finger free, she lifted her hand to the light, flexing suddenly arthritis-free fingers.

"I suppose," Madame LaRue said calmly, "that it wasn't you that did that."

"I don't think I would even know how to do that," Davina said in a hushed voice.

Madame LaRue lifted Hope to check her other hand. That, too, was no longer warped and gnarled, but had all the freedom that had been taken from the woman a long time ago.

"Has she done this before?" She asked, still sounding as though Hope had done nothing more unusual than a particularly loud burp.

"No," Davina said, a little shakily. "When she was born, there was a pretty big surge of magic - I used it to break through Esther's spell to get through to the ancestors, and it healed two people at the same time, so we knew she would be a witch, but I don't think she's … done anything since then."

"She'll need tutoring earlier than usual," Madame LaRue said. "I assume you and Sophie will take care of that?"

"That was the plan," Davina answered. "I'm sure Kol will put his two cents in as well."

Madame LaRue wrinkled her nose, but didn't comment on that. "Make sure you start as soon as she is old enough to participate. It wouldn't hurt for you to perform magic in her presence as well so she's aware of it - more than just the lights."

Davina nodded. "I'll talk to Sophie and Caroline. Are … Are you okay?"

The old lady nodded, a little bright-eyed. "I had lost hope a long time ago that I would ever be able to play again." She paused, smiling down at the baby in her arms. "You really are perfectly named, aren't you?"

* * *

By the time Davina got home, bodyguards in tow, Hope was fast asleep.

Caroline and Klaus were both waiting just inside when they got home, and the relief they both exuded was palpable.

"How did it go?" Caroline asked in a hushed voice.

"Everything went fine," Davina said. "Just to let you know, Hope did magic."

"What did she do?" Klaus asked.

"She healed Madame LaRue's arthritis," Davina answered.

Sophie, who was just about to walk out the door to go to work, froze in place. "She did what?"

Caroline looked from one witch to the other. "Am I missing something?"

"Madame LaRue has had arthritic hands since she was about twenty," Sophie answered, still staring at Davina. "Coven legend says it was a curse, and you'd better believe she has tried absolutely everything to fix it."

"And Hope did it?" Caroline asked.

Davina shrugged. "Didn't even flinch or anything."

"Could Madame LaRue have used Hope's magic the same way you did?" Klaus asked.

"No," Sophie answered before Davina could. "First of all, Hope would have flinched in that case. Second of all, the only reason Davina could do that when Hope was born was because her magic was flooding out of her. Witches can't just … use each other's magic. Unless they're siphoners, but that's another matter entirely; they're exceptionally rare."

"Basically it had to be Hope," Davina said. "Madame LaRue advised us to start tutoring her as soon as possible."

Sophie nodded. "Good idea. I'll let you explain the dangers; I'm going to be late." She darted out the door, leaving Davina to reassure Klaus and Caroline.

"Dangers?" Klaus repeated.

"Not of teaching her," Davina said hastily. "Of _not_ teaching her. All young witches exposed to magic have something called 'wish magic', but it's mostly restricted by the fact that babies and small children don't have a lot of power. Because we don't know how powerful Hope is, so we won't know what her limits are."

"And is that dangerous for Hope?" Klaus asked.

Davina thought for a second. "Not for Hope, I don't think. Wish magic is unintentional. It's kind of like … 'Mommy took that toy away and I want it back', so it flies back to her. Normally that's where it stops. But little kids come up with some interesting things. "I wish the sky was pink." "I wish I had a unicorn." "Someone just told me off and I wish they'd disappear.""

"Yes, that wouldn't be idea," Klaus said.

"There's an understatement," Caroline muttered, looking worried.

"That's the worse case scenario," Davina said. "I think between us we can probably make sure that doesn't happen. Sophie and I just need to start teaching her earlier than we thought, that's all."

"In that case," Caroline said, "I'm parking that for now, because I have a party to plan."

* * *

To no one's surprise, the closer the christening party got, the more on edge Klaus became.

Madame LaRue had graciously declined the invitation when Davina extended it, but gave Hope a traditional witch's blessing.

The rest of the invitees, however, were more than happy to attend.

The Mystic Falls gang once again arrived _en masse_, which led Caroline to decide that she was going to start inviting people over more often so she could deal with them one at a time (because she loved them all, but dear God they were exhausting).

On the evening of February 5th, Caroline checked her make-up one last time and made her way into the nursery where Klaus was leaning on the crib, watching Hope sleep peacefully. He glanced up when she entered.

"What do you think?" Caroline asked, giving a little twirl.

"Beautiful as always, love," Klaus said, taking her extended hand and dropping a kiss on her knuckles. "Do you not get tired of hearing that?"

"No," Caroline answered honestly. "I had terribly low self-esteem when I was a teenager."

A small noise from the crib made them both look down to see that Hope had woken. Her lower lip was beginning to wobble a little, and Caroline hastily scooped her up. "Hi baby girl! Are you ready to meet everyone?"

Hope sniffled, but settled down in her mother's arms.

"I'm still worried," Klaus said.

"I know," Caroline said, smoothing down Hope's dress. "We have a very decent number of vampires acting as security and Hope's not leaving my sight."

"I'd rather she didn't leave your arms either," Klaus said.

Caroline didn't roll her eyes, but it was a close think. "Nik, it's a christening. People are going to want to hold her. I'm not going to hand her over to everyone, but if she wants to go, she wants to go."

"I know," Klaus sighed. "She's far too sociable for her own good."

Caroline giggled. "Anyway, the guys on the door have the guest list; they won't let anyone in without an invitation. The only blind spot we have is the witches, and Madeleine won't bring anyone that's going to cause trouble."

"In theory," Klaus said. "In practice, she can't turn down requests until the contingent spaces have been filled, and that's five unknowns."

"She can turn them down if she has a good reason," Caroline pointed out. "Agreeing with Esther is a good reason." She checked the clock. "We'd better get downstairs. We're already late to our own party."

Sure enough, when they got to the courtyard, there were already guests milling about. Since a compelled band lacked somewhat in performance skills, Josh had set up a DJ booth instead, something that apparently caused Elijah great pains.

Kol and Rebekah, of course, had been teasing him all day about 'getting with the times'.

Caroline was fine with it, although she did elicit a promise from Josh to try and keep the music somewhat highbrow.

By the sounds of it, he had interpreted that to mean an eclectic mix of classical pieces and nineties pop music, but at least it wasn't Josh's usual music (which tended to give even Caroline a headache, even though she was sure she had liked that kind of music once).

They were met at the bottom of the stairs by Camille, who had seen pictures of Hope thanks to Sophie, but had yet to actually meet her.

Caroline greeted her with a smile and a hug. "Cami, I'm so sorry we've been MIA for the last few months."

"Oh, don't be silly!" Cami said with a laugh. "You've got a new baby - it's understandable you've wanted some time at home."

It was so far from the truth that Caroline almost laughed, but if that was what people wanted to go with, that was absolutely okay with her.

"Well, you're here now," Caroline said.

Now fully awake, Hope gurgled and reached her arms out to Cami.

"Her Highness has spoken," Caroline joked. "Would you like a cuddle?"

"Ask a silly question," Camille said, taking Hope into her arms. "Hi sweetheart!"

Her uncle, Father O'Connell, smiled at Hope over her shoulder. "She is a beautiful baby, Caroline."

Caroline smiled. "Thank you, Father."

"I know you're not having an actual christening," Father O'Connell said, "but would it be alright if I gave her a blessing anyway?"

"Of course," Caroline said. "Thank you so much."

As the priest marked a cross on Hope's forehead with his thumb, Caroline caught sight of Davina out of the corner of her eye, the colour draining from her face.

Caroline followed her gaze to the front door, where Madeleine had just entered. She had with her five other members of the coven - the expected contingent that both Madeleine and Sophie had warned them of.

Davina's tension seemed to be due to the fourth woman in the line, whose gaze was fixed on Davina.

Caroline had a sinking feeling she knew who that was.

Apparently picking some of this up, Hope began fussing and reaching for her mother again.

"Is everything okay?" Cami asked, handing her back.

"I think so," Caroline said, bouncing Hope in her arms a little to soothe her. "Sorry, I have to go and play hostess."

Madeleine was whispering furiously to the woman in question, but broke off and smiled when Caroline approached. "Caroline, thank you for the invitation."

"Thank you for coming," Caroline answered. "Joanna Claire, I presume?"

"Davina told you?" Ms Claire asked, a little sharply.

"No, she looks like she's going to be sick," Caroline answered mildly. "It's probably how I looked when I met my father again after he tried to kill me."

Madeleine stepped in, quickly introducing Caroline to the other four witches, one of whom transpired to be the mother of one off the other Harvest girls, Cassie.

When Caroline heard that, she automatically reached a hand out. "I am so sorry, Mrs Westwood. I was out of line just then."

"Not at all," Mrs Westwood said, accepting her handshake. "You were absolutely correct. We were tricked into doing something awful, and all we can do now is try to make up for it. Some people are having trouble with that."

Joanna swelled up with indignation, but Madeleine gave her a quelling look. "Joanna, you are here because I had no choice but to accept your request. Caroline, if you have any concerns, even if it's about Davina's well-being, we will not take offence if she is asked to leave."

Ms Claire sniffed, fiddling with her purse. "May I step into the powder room?"

Caroline stepped to one side. "Through that door there, first on the left."

"Seriously," Madeleine said, once Joanna was out of earshot, "if someone else had got there first, I would have been much happier. But Joanna is not any kind of threat to you or Hope, so I didn't have a reason to say no. Not one the coven would have accepted anyway."

"Just be glad I got in there before Agnes did," Mrs Westwood said.

Caroline tried to hide her grimace, but failed. "Well, thank you for that at least. Let me introduce you to my friend Bonnie; I think you'll like her."

* * *

Thankfully, Joanna Claire did not make a scene, mainly because Davina didn't give her any kind of a chance to.

Kol, of course, was more than happy to help her in her efforts, keeping her twirling around the dance-floor, shrouded by a veil of partygoers.

But Davina was not a thousand-year-old vampire and simply could not just keep dancing all evening.

As they took a break, she caught sight of her mother making her way through the crowd towards her.

Kol stiffened at her side, and she grabbed his hand. "Let me deal with it," she murmured, trusting him to hear her over the music. "Let's not make this worse than it has to be."

The sound of Hope beginning to cry temporarily distracted them, Davina searching the crowd until she found Caroline standing with her daughter near the bottom of the stairs, talking to Katherine.

Or Elena.

Davina was fairly sure it was Katherine - she seemed to recall Kol saying something about it being the hair - but she certainly wasn't going to use a name until she'd had it confirmed.

Either way, it looked as though Caroline was about to take Hope upstairs.

Releasing Kol's hand again, Davina ducked into the crowd, hurrying over to Caroline. "Is she okay?"

"She's fine," Caroline answered. "Someone needs a diaper change."

Davina held out her arms. "I'll take her."

Caroline frowned. "Are you sure? It already smells like a bad one."

"Seriously, Caroline, I can take her," Davina said. "You have a party to host. Besides, I need a break and I'm running out of excuses to avoid my mother."

"Alright, if you're sure," Caroline said, handing Hope over. "Thanks; I owe you one."

"No, you don't," Davina said, already on her way up the stairs. Even though she was still in full view of her mother, there was something very reassuring about the way the security at the bottom of the stairs closed ranks again behind her.

By the time she reached the nursery, however, Davina was starting to rethink things. "Okay, Hope, I lied," she said, laying the girl down on the changing mat. "Mommy totally owes me for this one."

As Hope got cleaned up, she stopped crying and began to babble again, probably helped by the fact that Davina never stopped chatting to her.

"Honestly, how can someone this cute create something so disgusting," she asked, finally picking her up again.

Hope giggled in response.

"Oh, that's funny, is it?" Davina asked, gently tickling her. "You think it's funny when Auntie Davina has to deal with that much poop?"

Hope's giggles were joined by a chuckle, and Davina glanced towards the door. "Well, I expect you to find it funny."

"I'm curious," Klaus said, leaning against the doorframe. "Why on earth would you volunteer to change a dirty diaper over speaking to your mother?"

Davina gave him a dry look. "Wouldn't you?"

Klaus thought for a second. "Yes, actually. But your mother, to my knowledge, is not a soulless psychopath."

"She's not far off," Davina muttered. "She still thinks she has nothing to apologise for, and that I should stop being so ridiculous and come home, because being upset that she offered me up as a ritualistic sacrifice and stood by and watched is apparently a really childish thing to do."

Hope fisted a tiny hand in Davina's dress and dragged it into her mouth.

"Thank you, sweetheart, but that's not going to help matters," Davina said, gently disentangling herself.

Hope gave her a big toothless smile and she couldn't help smiling back, pressing a kiss to the little girl's forehead.

"Can I give you some advice, Davina?" Klaus asked.

Davina shrugged. "If you like."

"Don't let her drag you down to her level," Klaus said. "If she is that set in her ways, you aren't going to change her mind. If she tries to speak to you, keep it as impersonal as possible. Yes, she'll try and drag you down to an emotional fallout. Don't let her and walk away. That way, you come across as the bigger person."

Davina nodded. "I'll try."

"And if all else fails," Klaus said, "just tell her that you are a Mikaelson, whether she likes it or not."


	4. Chapter 4

**I originally had this as three separate chapters when I planned the story, but then I realised that they would be three really, really short chapters, so you get one instead! Also, I got the spell incantation off the internet. It may not be right.**

* * *

The christening lifted Caroline out of the rut she had fallen into following the Dahlia bombshell, and Hope seemed much happier as well - everyone had noticed how much more alert she was, and Caroline wasn't convinced that it was just down to her age.

A few days before Valentine's Day, Caroline was taking the chance to catch up on some emails while Hope was down for her nap.

The end of February would bring Mardi Gras, and this was the first one Caroline would spend in the heart of the Quarter. It was part of the New Orleans culture that she absolutely loved, so she was trying to figure out if they had the capacity for some kind of Masquerade that year, or if she should park the idea until next February.

A quiet tap on the door accompanied by a "Hey Care," caused her to look up with a smile. "Hey Matt. What's up?"

Matt was hovering by the door, looking uncharacteristically nervous. In fact, Caroline hadn't seen him look that nervous since he met her mom for the first time after they started dating.

"I need some advice," Matt said quietly. "Have you got any sage?"

Caroline set her laptop to one side and checked her phone. "Drawer by the door. You've got about ten minutes before Hope wakes up."

Lighting a small amount of the sage, Matt sat down on the couch in the corner of the room, and Caroline left her desk to join him. "Advice?"

"Don't read too much into this," Matt said warningly.

"Okay," Caroline said slowly. "How can I help?"

"At some point, I'm going to need to make a decision," Matt said. "I'm either going to grow old or I'm going to become a vampire."

Caroline hesitated. "What do you need from me?"

"I need you to be honest with me," Matt answered. "What's it like?"

Caroline huffed out a breath. "That is not an easy question, Matt."

"I know that," Matt said. "That's why I'm asking. If it was easy, I could probably figure it out for myself."

"Well," Caroline began thoughtfully, "it's … exhilarating. It's freeing. It's terrifying."

"What about the blood-lust?" Matt asked. "What's that like?"

Caroline pulled a face. "Difficult to explain. From what I can tell, it's different for everyone. For me, that's the scary bit. When you become a vampire, it changes part of your brain. It's not the hunger - that I can deal with. It's that part of you genuinely wants to hurt someone. Part of learning control is learning how to make that part shut up. And the more you listen to it, the harder it is to do that."

"That's why they have trouble," Matt said with realisation.

Caroline nodded. "Exactly."

A soft cry came through the baby monitor, and she gave Matt's hand a squeeze. "Elena might be a good person to talk to. She might not have made the decision in the end, but she had to consider it. Damon as well, for that matter. I had no idea about vampires until I turned."

Hope's cries were getting more and more insistent, and she jumped to her feet. "Sorry, Matt; I need to go and get her."

"Of course," Matt said hastily. "Go!"

Dropping a quick kiss on his cheek, Caroline blew out the sage and slipped out of her office, heading down the hallway towards the nursery. "I'm coming, baby-girl," she called out, half to reassure the rest of the people in the house.

She wanted desperately to be objective in her advice to Matt, but she couldn't get past the wish to not have to lose him one day, even if that was many years in the future.

However she owed it to him to be as honest as possible, otherwise …

Her thought process stuttered to a halt as she pushed open the door to the nursery.

For a split second, she was frozen in place, struck mute in horror - the wall opposite her had turned green with thick vines that were creeping over the carpet.

She was spurred into action before her brain had even processed what she was seeing, when Hope's cries turned into terrified screams as the vines snuck over the crib and began to curl around her arms.

Caroline screamed as well, grabbing Hope from the crib, but the vines began to wrap around her as well.

Matt appeared in the doorway, apparently having followed her out of the office, and pulled out his pocket knife, cutting away the vines holding her.

They stumbled out into the hallway, just as Klaus arrived with Elijah, Kol, Sophie and Davina.

Sophie took one look at the situation and stepped in; while she set about dealing with the vines, Davina started examining the ones that had already fallen to the ground from Matt's rescue.

"Are you alright?" Klaus asked urgently.

Caroline was shaking, but she was trying desperately to calm down, tucking Hope against her chest and letting her embrace soothe herself as well as her daughter. "I'm okay, just … Someone was trying to take her, Nik. Those vines were either trying to take her or kill her, I don't know which."

"Dahlia," Kol said immediately. "It must be Dahlia."

"I hate to argue," Davina said grimly. "But this magic is far too familiar to be Dahlia. This is Esther's magic."

Caroline suddenly went very, very still. The vampire part of her brain, that she had been telling Matt not even five minutes earlier she never listened to, was getting louder and louder.

Hope settled a little, letting out a little sigh that hitched in just the wrong way. It tugged at her heartstrings and her monster snarled, fighting against the chains she kept it in.

In the next second, those chains had snapped and she handed Hope to Klaus, turning on her heel towards the stairs. "Davina, with me."

Davina exchanged a worried glance with Hope and hurried after her.

"Caroline, where are you going?" Klaus called, comforting his daughter.

"Esther is about to learn what a real mother does when her child is threatened," Caroline said, still with the same calm that had settled over her at Esther's name, "and it's not hand her over to the devil."

* * *

"Caroline, where are we going?" Davina asked, still hurrying along in her wake.

"To the cemetery," Caroline said shortly. "Someone's helping her. They must be. There's a gathering this afternoon, right?"

"Yes, but …" Davina caught her arm. "Caroline, you're scaring me."

That brought Caroline up short, turning to face her. "Davina, you've watched Kol's memories. You cannot tell me I'm scarier than he is."

"That's different," Davina said. "Kol's a psychopath. I knew that when I met him. I've never seen you like this before."

"I'm a mother," Caroline answered. "Most mothers would react this way when their child is in danger; I just have resources they don't."

"So why am I here?" Davina asked.

"So you say things like that," Caroline said, giving Davina a small smile. "I need someone to ground me. Nik will just egg me on. I also need you to keep anyone from giving me an aneurysm."

"Just so you know," Davina said, falling into step beside her now Caroline had slowed down a little, "I'm not going to be grounding you when it comes to Esther."

"Good," Caroline said. "That's exactly the moment I don't want grounding."

Madeleine met them at the cemetery entrance. Her smile faltered when she saw the look in Caroline's eyes. "Are you possessed?"

"Not exactly," Caroline said. "The vampire side is a little more awake than usual."

"Esther came after Hope," Davina explained. "Sent vines into the nursery that tried to grab her."

"Holy …" Madeleine took an automatic step backwards, and Caroline took that as an invitation, whether it was meant as one or not. "She's not here."

"She's not that stupid," Caroline said, striding through the rows of crypts. "Someone knows where she is and someone's helping her."

"They wouldn't," Maddie protested.

"Those vines went straight for the nursery while Hope was down for her nap," Davina said, having caught up with Caroline's thought process. "Someone must be watching. And it can't be Esther herself because we know what she looks like and we haven't found Lenore's body or lost anyone else, so we know that she hasn't body-jumped or anything."

"She can't body-jump," Madeleine said automatically. "She'd need someone else to do it to her."

"I don't put any limitations on what Esther can or can't do," Caroline said. "I'd rather be proved paranoid than unpleasantly surprised."

Madeleine hurried to catch up with her, just as they emerged into the centre of the cemetery where the coven gathering was taking place.

A few of the other elders - almost all the same age as Madeleine, or near enough - stepped forwards, but Madeleine waved them down. "Esther went after Hope."

Most of the witches reacted with horror, whether due to the idea of going after a child or that of going against the ancestors, it wasn't really clear - either way it was gratifying to see.

It also gave Caroline a smaller selection of suspects.

Her eyes narrowed and she took a step towards Agnes, the only remaining elder who had survived Marcel's attack the night of the Harvest.

"Did you know vampires can smell fear?" She asked softly.

"Hang on," Maddie said hastily. "Agnes wouldn't help Esther, certainly not when the ancestors …"

"… have been hoodwinked," Agnes announced, glaring at Caroline. "They have been tricked into thinking that this child is anything other than an abomination."

In a blur of movement, Caroline had Agnes pinned against the nearest crypt, a hand tight around her throat. "Where is she?!"  
Shouts went up from behind her, but even as magic crackled around her, Caroline didn't flinch, trusting Davina to shield her from anyone trying to stop her.

"Davina, please," Madeleine said, "can't you talk to her?"

Davina shook her head, one hand keeping several members of the coven (including her mother, go figure) at bay. "Hope's a baby, Maddie. It's not fair."

Agnes clearly wasn't going to talk, her eyes daring Caroline to kill her. The vampire part of her brain was screaming the same thing, but Caroline fought it, holding Agnes's gaze.

After all, she couldn't give answers if she was dead.

"Caroline," Madeleine said softly. "I understand. I do. But Agnes is the last proper elder we have; she has knowledge that we desperately need. I know that you have some kind of deal going between the wolves and the vampires, where they take care of their own. Please let us do the same."

Caroline did not look at Maddie, but her grip loosened a little. "You are very lucky Nik isn't here, because he would have killed you already," she said to Agnes, finally releasing her. "Luckily for you, I'm much better at seeing the bigger picture, and I happen to trust Madeleine far more than I trust you."

Madeleine breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you."

"Don't thank me," Caroline said. "You have twenty-four hours to get the information you need and deal with her yourself, or I will make her wish it was Nik standing her instead of me."

"They won't kill me," Agnes said, a little smugly. "Witches are far more humane than vampires."

Caroline laughed humourlessly. "Humane? Aside from attempting to kidnap a baby, weren't you the one that murdered the four Harvest girls? That puts your kill count ahead of mine, honey. And for the record, I don't give a damn what they do with you, as long as you can't ever come anywhere near my child ever again. Now where is Esther?"

"Tell her," Madeleine said warningly, when Agnes still said nothing.

Agnes looked to the other elders to help her, but they had all congregated behind Maddie and were presenting a solid wall of consensus, and blocking any of those who may have helped Agnes just on the principle of not helping a vampire.

"There's a cabin," Agnes said finally, scowling, "out in the bayou."

"I know where that is," Davina said.

"Good." Caroline turned to Madeleine. "I trust you can handle things here?"

"Absolutely," Madeleine said, still frowning at Agnes. "Good luck."

* * *

Caroline honestly expected the cabin to be empty when they got there, so it was with some surprise that she kicked open the door to find Esther, in her new body, in the middle of some kind of incantation.

"_Lie cle vie la lumiere le sien lache!_" Light left Davina's hands and slammed into Esther, locking her inside her body, just in case Maddie was wrong about Esther needing a second witch in order to body-jump.

"You know," Caroline said conversationally, "if you wanted to meet the baby, you could have just knocked on the door."

"You have no idea what you're dealing with," Esther snapped at her. "Dahlia _will_ come for her, Caroline, mark my words. Give to me now and spare yourself the pain."

"Oh, stop pretending any of this is for anyone other than yourself," Caroline said, feeling Davina's magic wrap around her once again in a protective embrace.

Esther noticed it as well and laughed. "You can't hold me at bay forever, Davina."

"I don't need to," Davina said coldly. "Just long enough."

"I just want my daughter back," Esther said.

"You should have thought of that a thousand years ago," Caroline said, taking a step towards her.

"I had no idea," Esther argued. "I was young. I had no children. I was about to lose my husband if things didn't change."

"I've met Mikael," Caroline said. "I wouldn't have thought that would be such a bad thing."

Esther glared at her. "I thought if I had a dozen children I wouldn't miss just one."

"Oh, you thought you wouldn't miss her?" Caroline asked. "Well, that changes everything, doesn't it, Davina?"  
"Absolutely," Davina agreed, sarcasm lacing her voice in away she swore was all Kol. "I didn't realised that she _missed_ Freya. That completely excuses selling her to a psychopath."

Esther's spell shattered against Davina's shields, causing them to waver.

"Caroline, whatever you're going to do, do it fast," Davina warned.

Esther gave a triumphant smile, sending yet another wave of magic towards them. "I will have my daughter back."

As Davina stumbled and the shield fell, Caroline ducked the magic. "And I will have my daughter safe." She darted forwards, her hand shooting forwards, the weapon within it sinking into Esther's chest.

Esther screamed, freezing in place, and seemed to shatter into ashes right in front of her.

"What just happened?" Davina asked, getting to her feet.

"I stabbed her," Caroline said blankly, staring at the weapon still in her hand. "When I grabbed it on the way out, I was thinking poetic justice. I wasn't expecting it to actually do anything different."

"Is that the white oak stake?" Davina asked in a hushed voice.

"That's it," Caroline said. "Only one left to my knowledge. Although when we get home, I'm storing it somewhere safer."

Davina came to stand beside her, nudging some of the ash with her foot. "Is she actually dead, or is this some kind of trick?"

"She'd better be dead," Caroline said darkly.

"I'll call Kol," Davina said, pulling her phone out, but before she could dial, it began to ring. "Hold that thought. Maddie? What's wrong?"

"_Davina, what just happened?"_

Davina glanced at Caroline, who was unashamedly eavesdropping. "We're not sure at the moment. Caroline stabbed Esther and she turned into ash. Why?"

_"Because the other three Harvest girls just collapsed."_


	5. Chapter 5

Caroline went straight home. She knew that Davina would be going to the cemetery, that Sophie would almost certainly have been called as well, but she had a feeling that her presence would not be required, nor would it be particularly welcome at that moment in time.

She found Klaus in the living room, Hope fast asleep in his arms.

"What happened?" Klaus asked in an urgent whisper. "Sophie took off like all of the hounds of Hell were chasing her."

"Esther's dead," Caroline said, almost mechanically, sinking into the seat next to him. "I stabbed her with a white oak stake."

"Well, that was … inspired," Kol said from the doorway. "Are you sure she's dead?"

"The other Harvest girls have collapsed," Caroline answered. "Davina's gone to the cemetery; I assume Sophie has as well."

"I suppose I had better go as well," Kol said. "Someone needs to keep an eye on things. Where's the stake now?"

"I hid it," Caroline said. "It's in the compound. I'm not telling you where. And I want one of you to compel me to forget where it is so no one else can take it from me either."

"Kol, do you mind?" Klaus asked, to Caroline's surprise.

Kol, however, did not seem startled at all, striding over to lean down to look into her eyes. "Are you on vervain?"

"Of course not," Caroline said with a sigh. "Why would I need to be? I trust all of you."

Kol hesitated. "Well … thank you; that actually means a lot. Now …" his pupils dilated and her breath caught. She didn't even hear what he said, but then she didn't really need to; the compulsion settled and her memory of hiding the stake vanished from her mind.

His hand rested on her shoulder and she jumped.

"Easy," Kol said soothingly. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Caroline said, her voice a little shaky. "I just … That hasn't happened since I was human and … I'd forgotten how crappy it feels."

Kol frowned and pressed a kiss to her temple the way he sometimes did when Rebekah when he was feeling particularly affectionate. "Okay, I'm going to the cemetery."

"Kol?" Klaus called after him. "If you can confirm that Esther is definitely gone from their heads, tell Sophie that Monique can stay here if she needs to."

Caroline's eyebrows shot up into her hairline. "What's happened? I go off on a killing spree and you're adopting people."

"I hardly count one person as a killing spree," Klaus said.

"Admittedly, you would have wiped out half the coven in the process," Caroline said. "I decided a tactful approach would be better. Come on, why are you really offering?"

Klaus shrugged. "Either Sophie is going to stay somewhere else with her niece, or her niece is coming here. And I'd rather have Sophie here with Hope."

* * *

Over the next month, everyone slowly began to believe that, this time, Esther was completely dead - not only had the ancestors confirmed she had crossed over, but the other Harvest girls had snapped out of the trance she had put them in.

Sure enough, Monique had taken the room adjoining Sophie's, although she spent almost every night shaking in her aunt's arms, trying to escape the nightmares and grieving for her mother.

Davina spent most of her time avoiding Monique, which is how she ended up one rainy afternoon curled up on the couch in Caroline's office with a book, even though Caroline wasn't there.

Three chapters in, the door swung open without warning.

"Caroline …"

"She's not here, Klaus," Davina said without looking up. "She took Hope over to Cami's for a change of scenery. Jeanette's with her," she added, before Klaus could protest.

"Actually," Klaus said, "I was going to ask her if she'd seen you. What are you doing hiding in here?"

"I'm not hiding," Davina said automatically. "Okay, I'm hiding," she conceded, when he just gave her an amused look (and when did she start being able to translate the Mikaelsons' facial expressions when most people just saw various shades of Resting Bitch Face?). "I feel a bit guilty being around Monique at the moment, given that, you know, I avoided the whole possession thing, my mother's still alive even though I'm not talking to her, and, oh yeah, I'm partially responsible for her mother's death. Wait, why were you looking for me?"

Klaus narrowed his eyes at her, as if he was going to go return to her self-conscious ramblings, but (mercifully) thought better of it. "I have concerns."

"There's a surprise," Davina said, dog-earing her page and setting her book down. "How can I help?"

"We don't know where Dahlia is," Klaus answered. "We don't know where Freya is. We have no idea if Mother can bring herself back."

"Okay, well, I'm not a psychic," Davina said slowly. "So what can I do?"

"Is there any way …" Klaus pulled a face, as though he was still following this train of thought and wasn't quite sure where it was going. "Could you spell a map of the city that would show family members on it, and then we would see when any new names showed up?"

"Like the Marauders Map?" Davina said brightly, but he just gave her a blank look. "Oh for … Read modern books, for the love of God. Do you have a map of the city?"

Klaus drew a tourism map from inside his jacket, and Davina carefully cleared Caroline's desk, setting the potted orchid on top of the book case like it was made of glass.

Once she had a clear space, she spread the map out to examine it, running her fingers along the creases and murmuring to herself.

It was no secret at all that Klaus had little to no patience with witches, so it was a mark of the affection he'd come to have towards his brother's girlfriend that he waited nearly ten minutes before saying, "Well, can you?"

"Maybe," Davina said slowly. "In theory, I can do it. It's basically a location spell with a split-focus that's present all the time. I'd need to speak to Kol and Sophie, see what they think."

"Of course," Klaus agreed. "But you think you can?"

"Well, if I can," Davina said, "we'd have three options. The easiest thing to do is use your blood, and that would show all blood relatives. However, that won't work if Esther and Freya are now in different bodies, or if Esther brings herself back in another body."

"Fair point," Klaus agreed. "What's option two?"

"Option two is harder," Davina answered. "We use your magic to bind the spell."

"I don't have any magic," Klaus said with a frown.

"You do," Davina said. "You're the son of a witch. You always had magic. You might not have used it or practiced it, and you can't use it anymore because of the immortality spell. But you have it. That will then show anyone connected to you on a spiritual as well as a biological level, so if there is body-jumping involved, it'll still work, because the inherent magic will still be the same."

"So what's the downside?" Klaus asked.

"What makes you think there's a downside?" Davina said.

"If there wasn't, there wouldn't be a third option," Klaus responded. "What is it?"

Davina chewed on her bottom lip. "Mikael," she said finally. "If your mother brought him back somehow - unlikely but not impossible - he wouldn't show up, because you're not actually his son."

Klaus sighed. "So option three?"

"I use Kol's inherent magic instead," Davina answered.

"And what's wrong with that?" Klaus asked.

Davina smiled sadly. "Caroline. The only way to show Caroline on here - and don't pretend half the reason you want this is to know that everyone's safe - the only way to do that would be to bind her to you and if we do that, we have to use option two. So you have to decide what's more important: an early warning system for Mikael or keeping Caroline safe."

* * *

"I have a question."

"The last time you turned up with that kind of demeanour," Caroline said, waving Matt inside, "you asked me about immortality."

Matt grinned and held up a mug. "I come bearing gifts."

"Oh, alright then." Caroline closed her laptop and came to join Matt on her couch, taking the coffee from him. "Thank you. How can I help?"

It was hard to believe it had been two months since that conversation and since Esther had been taken out of the equation.

It was equally hard to believe that Hope was now four months old. She was starting to roll over and Caroline was sure she was about to start crawling soon.

Then again, Caroline was also sure she would start talking soon, but no one else heard anything other than random babbles of sound.

She knew though. She knew that when Hope reached for her, the noises she made had a different kind of urgency than they did when she was pointing at birds out the window.

"Are you and Klaus getting married?"

Caroline paused with the cup halfway to her lips. "Why? Because we have a daughter?"

"No, because you're nauseatingly in love with him," Matt answered. "Come on, Caroline, Vikki and I were kind of the poster kids for why 'marrying for the sake of the kids' was a bad idea; Dad was gone by the time I was two."

"Sorry," Caroline muttered. "It was just … out of the blue, that's all."

"So are you?" Matt asked.

"Matt, if Nik had popped the question," Caroline said, "first of all, you'd have heard the screaming. Second of all," she waved her left hand at him, "do you see a ring?"

"Fair enough," Matt said with a shrug.

"He did suggest a soul bonding," Caroline added. "You know, binding our souls together for the rest of time."

"What?" Matt asked blankly.

"Apparently, he's got this big idea about keeping everyone safe," Caroline said, "but it won't work for me unless that happens."

"_What?!_" Matt repeated.

Caroline giggled. "I refer you to our previous question as to how they could have lived a thousand years and still be so clueless - I still don't think he's actually realised what he was actually asking me."

"Unbelievable," Matt muttered.

"Right?" Caroline asked, then sighed. "If and when we get married, I want a proper proposal and I want to be able to plan a wedding afterwards, and have Hope as a flower girl, and try and figure out if I want it here or in Mystic Falls, and I can't do any of that until Hope's safe. And we haven't talked about it, but I think Nik's on the same page."

"Good," Matt said firmly.

"Good?" Caroline repeated. "Why good?"

"Well, first of all, I think you're right," Matt answered. "But second of all … I didn't want to step on your toes."

Caroline sucked in a breath. "You mean …?"

Matt nodded with a grin. "I have a small box I want your opinion on."

* * *

**AN: ****I have no idea if I'll get anything else written and posted in the next week. So just in case I don't, I hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday season and wish you all the best for 2020.**


	6. Chapter 6

"Alright, what's going on?"

In all fairness, Matt probably should have known that keeping secrets around Rebekah was not a good idea.

Still, he gave playing dumb a try. "What do you mean?"

"That's not going to work," Rebekah said, the irritation in her eyes fading into badly-masked fear. "You've been really secretive; what's going on?"

Matt hesitated. "I'll tell you," he said. "I swear, I will. Just … give me five minutes, okay? I have to have another conversation first and then I'll be right back. Please just … wait here."

Rebekah gave a small nod, sinking on to their mattress. He hesitated a second longer, then sprinted out the door.

Five minutes later, just as she was beginning to consider giving up and going to find him, he returned, looking faintly sick and very nervous.

"Are you okay?" Rebekah asked, brow creasing with concern.

"I'm fine," Matt said, closing the door behind him. "That was just as not-fun as I expected it to be. Okay …"

"Do you want to leave New Orleans?" Rebekah blurted out.

Matt paused, then smiled at her. "Not without you, Beks."

His smile was genuine, but she didn't return it. "Are you sure you're not having second thoughts? All the drama going on right now … I wouldn't blame you."

"Rebekah, I am not walking out on my family," Matt said softly, kneeling in front of her so he could meet her eyes. "I love you. I know I've been secretive lately; there was some thinking that I needed to do, and I needed some advice, but leaving you was never an option I'd even considered, and I'm not about to, okay?"

Rebekah searched his eyes and finally relaxed. "Okay. So what _is_ going on? And what was the five minutes for?"

Matt took a deep breath. "There's a conversation I need to have with you, Beks. And I needed some advice to figure out what to say and how to say it, but I don't think it matters. You know me; you know I'm not great with big shows of affection."

"You left Mystic Falls and followed me to New Orleans," Rebekah said with a teasing smile. "That's pretty big."

"Fair enough," Matt said, with a chuckle. "I needed to speak to Klaus just now."

Rebekah paused, slightly taken off-guard. "Why?"

"Because I don't have a death-wish," Matt said, grinning. "Not even Caroline could protect me forever."

"I'm now more confused than when I started," Rebekah admitted. "Matt, what the hell is going on?"

"Marry me," Matt blurted out, almost before she had finished her question.

Rebekah gaped at him for a few minutes, in a way that her mother would have scolded her for for being 'unladylike'. "W-What?"

"Marry me," Matt repeated, his heart beating so loud he was sure she would have heard it even without vampire hearing. "I love you. I want to spend forever with you."

Rebekah took a shaky breath. "You know that my forever and your forever are two very different things?"

"I know," Matt said. "That was why I needed advice. I already knew that I wanted to spend my life with you. I just needed to figure out how long that would be."

Rebekah took his hands. "I promise I will visit the nursing home every single day."

Matt chuckled. "Thanks, but I was hoping not to need one."

Rebekah paused. "Sorry?"

"I want you to turn me," Matt said. "I want _your_ forever, Beks. Mine isn't long enough. So … will you?"

Rebekah's face broke into the bright smile he adored, the one that wiped away a thousand years of heartbreak and made her eyes light up like a child at Christmas. "Yes."

* * *

Caroline paused mid-typing, smiling as there was a faint squeal down the hallway, probably as Matt spun his new fiancee around. "Thank you for being nice to him."

"Well, you were right there, love," Klaus said, reclining on her office couch with Hope dozing on his chest. "And so was Hope."

"Still," Caroline said, "I was expecting you to at least give him a hard time."

"He threw me off," Klaus admitted. "I knew he was going to say something …"

Caroline hid her smile. She had warned Klaus weeks ago that Matt was planning to propose, so that he had time to get his head around it before Matt finally plucked up the courage.

"… but I wasn't expecting him to start by saying that he categorically wasn't asking my permission because only Rebekah can give that."

"I'll be honest," Caroline said, "if he'd asked me for advice, I would have advised against that."

Klaus smirked. "I'm glad I can still surprise you, love. Because you actually would have been wrong."

Caroline stopped typing at that, giving him a disbelieving look. "Liar."

"Okay," Klaus conceded. "If I hadn't seen him with her and I didn't trust him not to hurt her, it wouldn't have been the _best_ approach. But you know why I have aways disliked Rebekah's suitors."

"Because you want to protect her from getting hurt," Caroline said. "And …" Realisation dawned. "And because you don't want to lose her. And part of the reason why a man would have asked for a lady's hand, it would be because she was considered her father's property, and with marriage that 'ownership' would pass to her husband, wouldn't it?"

"Exactly," Klaus answered. "And I know that Rebekah is a vampire, and any man she married would not be able to make her do anything she didn't want to, but …"

"But he could in theory keep her away from you," Caroline finished. "Not to mention, as overprotective as you can be, you also want to see Rebekah happy and you know that she wouldn't be happy with a man who saw her as subservient."

"Matt looked me in the eye and told me he'd appreciate my blessing to marry my sister because he knows how important her family is to her, not because I have any say in what she does," Klaus said. "The fact that he said that knowing full well what I'm capable of has increased my opinion of him even more. What?" He asked, when she just smiled at him.

In answer, Caroline rose from her chair, rounded her desk and walked over to the couch, leaning down to kiss him softly. "I love you."

"I love you too," Klaus said slowly. "What did I do?"

"Nothing," Caroline said, sitting down beside them. "There's the man I fell in love with, and then there's the mask you put up to convince everyone you're a heartless monster. Recently, I see the first more often, and it's rather lovely."

"Is it?" Klaus asked.

Caroline smiled. "It is. Convinces me that I'm not mad and that I don't have Stockholm Syndrome."

Klaus laughed. "I wouldn't be so sure of that, love. In case you were wondering, the only reason I haven't done the same thing as Matt is because I'm waiting for this Dahlia business to be over."

"I know," Caroline murmured, even though she hadn't until he just said so, "and I agree with you." Her smile turned a little mischievous. "Even though you actually already asked me."

"When did I do that?" Klaus asked.

Caroline giggled. "A few months ago. You suggested a soul bonding."

"That wasn't a proposal," Klaus said. "Is that why you said no?"

"No," Caroline said. "Or rather, yes, but not what you think. You're thinking I said no because I thought it _was_ a proposal. I said no because I knew it wasn't. You were asking me to bind my soul to you for eternity, Nik. I understand why, and I completely appreciate the emotion behind it. And if when the time comes, you want us to do that ritual, I will be 100% in favour. But if and when that happens, I want a proper proposal and a proper wedding and I want my mum to be there and I want Hope to be safe."

* * *

It was going to be a June wedding, at the end of the month in order to avoid Elena and Stefan's anniversary (partly because they were going to be in New York, rather than New Orleans).

As April turned to May, Caroline was on the phone with the caterers and simultaneously messaging Mystic Falls, trying to organise a bachelorette party disguised as a dress fitting (but only partially disguised, because Elena was going to be a bridesmaid and needed a dress).

In hindsight, Rebekah's choice of Caroline as her maid of honour was obvious, but that hadn't stopped Caroline from being surprised - and very touched - by the request.

And Caroline was in her element with wedding planning, even if it wasn't hers.

Hope began to stir, and Caroline said her goodbyes, both on the phone and on the group chat. Since the vine incident, she had taken to putting her daughter down for naps in her office with her, rather than in her nursery.

Caroline reached the crib just as Hope's eyes blinked open. "Hi sweetheart."

Hope smiled, raising her arms to be picked up. "Ma-ma."

Caroline lifted her baby with a smile, planting a kiss on her forehead. She still wasn't completely sure if that meant what Hope wanted it to mean, but she was going to take it.

When Hope had first said it a few weeks ago, she had just about burst into tears.

There was a soft knock on her office door and Caroline called for them to come in, giving Hope a quick sniff to make sure she didn't need changing.

"Um, Caroline?"

"Hi Aiden," Caroline greeted brightly. "What's up?"

"I was hoping to have a word with you in private," Aiden said. "I can come back …"

"No, don't worry," Caroline said. "Do you want to light some sage just in case?"

"Yeah, might be a good idea," Aiden said.

"And is this a desk conversation or a couch one?" Caroline asked.

Aiden hesitated, blowing the match out. "Probably a couch one but I'm nervous so the desk might be better."

Caroline chuckled, settling back into her chair with Hope on her lap. Closing her laptop and setting it to one side, she waved at the chair on the other side of her desk. "So how can I help?"

Aiden sat down, fidgeting, and Caroline waited patiently, pulling one of Hope's toys from her desk drawer for her to play with.

"How do you become a hybrid?" Aiden asked finally.

Caroline paused. "That's … Where did that come from?"

Aside from the fidgeting, Aiden looked quite calm, but the tips of his ears were turning red. "I love Josh, Caroline. He means the world to me. And I want to spend the rest of my life with him, but the rest of his life is going to be a lot longer. So how do you become a hybrid?"

"Are you asking because you want to become one?" Caroline asked.

"No," Aiden said hastily. "I mean, not yet or anything. I just … I like to know what my options are, you know?"

Hope dropped her rattle, conveniently giving Caroline an excuse not to answer immediately as she reached down to retrieve it.

"Well, the short answer is that you die with Klaus's blood - or the blood of any other hybrid - in your system," Caroline answered finally. "However, there is a catch. Well, two really. First of all, every hybrid Klaus has ever sired has experienced a sire bond strong enough to force them to fatally wound people they love. On saying that, that bond can be broken, obviously. However the second catch is that hybrids have to transition on doppelgänger blood."

"How is that a catch?" Aiden asked, apparently skipping past the sire bond. "Josh said something about Elena being one?"

"She is," Caroline agreed. "Moreover, she's a Petrova doppelgänger which is conveniently the exact type of blood needed. Unfortunately, she's not human anymore, so her blood no longer works. I can't say we wouldn't find something, but if you're only considering options right now …"

"Yeah, absolutely," Aiden said. "So you're saying it's a maybe rather than an impossible."

Caroline shrugged. "Something like that."

She could probably trust him with the truth about Hope's blood, but she and Klaus had made a promise to one another to tell no one else.

"I'm glad you're here though," Caroline said. "Saves me from coming to find you."

"Oh?"

"We're still worried about Dahlia," Caroline answered. "If she's anything like Esther, she won't come straight for us."

"What will she do then?" Aiden asked, automatically taking Hope when she reached over the desk for him.

"She'll strike on the fringes," Caroline predicted. "She'll sow discord and scatter us so our defences fall."

"What can I do?" Aiden asked immediately, bouncing Hope on his lap.

Caroline smiled. "Nothing special. I just need you to be careful. You're kind of a prime target. Josh loves you so it'll be a personal blow. The wolves will blame the vampires; you're close enough to Jackson to potentially make him lose his cool. I would obviously be very upset."

"Okay, I'll be careful," Aiden said quietly, looking down at Hope.

"I'm sorry," Caroline said with a sigh. "I hate all of this."

"It's not your fault, Caroline," Aiden said. "Really. Hope's worth fighting for. She's worth dying for, if it comes down to it. My only concern is what you said - if she manages to twist it to cause a civil war. Any ideas to stop that?"

Caroline smiled sadly. "Just one."


	7. Chapter 7

Rebekah and Matt didn't have a honeymoon, more a brief interlude at the plantation house. When they returned, still glowing with happiness, everyone expected Matt to be a vampire, but he was still very much human.

Once they explained their reasoning - that neither of them wanted to be MIA if and when Dahlia showed up - it made perfect sense. Matt was adding Rebekah's blood to his coffee every morning, just in case; otherwise they would wait until Dahlia was gone and Hope was safe.

For now, however, everyone was on edge, waiting for the next bombshell.

It was a hot July morning when it came. Since Davina had managed to create the map Klaus had asked for, she and Kol had been looking after it, since no one trusted Klaus not to become completely obsessed with the thing.

They both checked it three times a day, or if they happened to be near the dresser where they kept it under a cloaking spell that Davina had found in Esther's grimoire.

It was Kol who saw it, having been searching for a pair of socks, of all things. As he closed the drawer, his eyes fell on the map and he paused. "Davina?"

"Yeah?"

"How many dots were on the map when you looked?"

"Five," Davina said in a muffled voice, probably through toothpaste.

"And when was that?"

"Hang on."

He heard her finish brushing her teeth, and then she emerged. "Just before I went into the bathroom. So, what, ten minutes ago? Why?"

"There are six dots," Kol said, turning back to the map.

"What?" Davina joined him to look for herself, but he was right - there were definitely six black marks on the map.

Three of them were practically on top of each other - Hope, Klaus and Kol were all at the compound - one was a few streets away (probably Rebekah as she and Matt had gone out for breakfast, and that was where her favourite cafe was) and one was over near the city's edge (Elijah had a habit of going for walks in the morning).

The sixth however …

"That's … not possible," Davina said slowly. "That's the Dowager Fauline Cottage. It's a witch prison," she added, when Kol still looked perplexed. "It's where they put the witches who are really, _really_ bad. Only the elders can open the door and … And how would someone just appear inside, anyway?"

"Maybe it's Mother?" Kol suggested.

Davina pulled a face. "I meditated this morning. I think your mother trying to resurrect herself is something the ancestors would have mentioned."

"Well, there's only one thing for it," Kol said.

Davina sighed. "Kol, Kaus will over-react."

"I know, darling," Kol said with a smile. "Which is why you and I are going to take a walk over and find out what's going on. After all, in theory, they should be locked in there."

"Okay, but I'm taking a truth globe," Davina said, retrieving it from the bookcase.

"Why?" Kol asked.

"Because I'm not convinced you can actually smell a lie," Davina answered, slipping it into her pocket. "Okay, let's go."

* * *

When they reached the Cottage it was all quiet, and Kol checked the map again. "Still there."

"What's still there?"

Davina jumped. "Maddi, don't sneak up on a vampire."

"I heard her," Kol said, tucking the map away again.

"Then why didn't you tell me?" Davina asked.

Kol grinned at her. "And miss you getting startled?"

Davina sighed. "Why do I put up with you?"

Madeleine cleared her throat. "As adorable as this is, why are you here? And what's still there?"

"There's someone in there who shouldn't be," Davina said. "Don't worry; we're not here to get them out. We're just going to wait here and see if something happens."

Maddi laughed. "Davina, there are three people who are able to open that door. I'm one of them and I can tell you right now that there is no one in there who shouldn't …"

The front door of the cottage creaked open.

Davina turned, just in time to see a young woman step out into the sun. The other inmates lurched towards the door and the escapee raised her hand blasting them backwards, before the door slammed shut behind her.

"Okay," Madeleine whispered. "I was wrong. I have no idea who that is."

Kol took a few steps forward, meeting the young woman at the gate, who stopped dead, but said nothing. "I know you," he said. "You accompanied me to a Christmas party back in 1908 and then just … vanished."

"I got a bit too close," she said quietly.

Davina started and stepped a bit closer. The unknown witch sounded American, but there was a soft lilt in her voice, one that ran through Kol's voice too. She was wearing an old-fashioned evening gown under a raggedy cardigan, as though she had grabbed something to protect her from the cold on a bitter winter's night. And her face …

"You're Freya," she whispered, as though saying it louder would cause something to shatter.

Kol sucked in a breath. "You're sure?"

Davina nodded. "She's a grown-up version of the painting Klaus did … You are, aren't you?"

"I am," Freya answered.

"How?" Kol blurted out. "You're a witch. How can you be an immortal witch?"

"I'm not immortal," Freya said. "At least, not in the way you are. Dahlia wanted to use me to power the spell and then keep using witches through the generations, but I never had children so she had to improvise. We live a year, then sleep for a hundred."

"Okay, but it's 2013," Davina said, frowning. "If you were alive in 1908, you've overslept."

This surprised a laugh out of Freya and Davina relaxed against Kol's side, as the smile finally made his sister look slightly less menacing.

Her smile faded soon enough though. "I try to sleep through if I can. It's better than spending a year running from Dahlia. I thought that place would keep her from finding me, but …" she trailed off. "She didn't find me. There's a new child in the family, isn't there?"

Ice seized Davina's heart and she tightened her grip on Kol's arm, lest he do something he would regret. "How do you know?"

"I can sense it," Freya whispered. "Dahlia will too."

"Kol …" Davina murmured, her entire body trembling.

"I know," Kol said, his hand covering hers on his arm. "I'm not telling you anything."

"Good," Freya said, some of the fire returning to her eyes. "Tell me nothing. Gender, name, appearance, location, nothing. It's safer if I don't know. But … how?"

Davina and Kol shared a glance.

"We think your mother wanted to give the child to Dahlia to get you back," Davina answered finally.

For a second, Freya didn't respond. Her features, a perfect blend of her siblings', seem to close off, her eyes turning cold.

"I would rather die," she said finally, "than allow another child to suffer as I did."

Davina closed her eyes, her free hand touching the truth globe in her pocket as it remained dark and still. She squeezed Kol's arm again, knowing that he would understand the message.

Kol sighed. "I must admit, Freya, that I am in a bit of a quandary here. Nik won't be happy for me to bring you home with us, but …"

"If the child is there," Freya said, "that would be a bad idea anyway. I can assure you that I have ways of keeping myself safe. I can stay …"

"With me," Maddi finished, finally stepping forward. "I'm Madeleine, one of the coven elders," she added for Freya's benefit. "The coven can grant you sanctuary and you are welcome to my spare room until it's safe for you to go home."

"Home," Freya repeated with a sad smile. "It's been a long time since I had one of those."

"You've always had one of those," Kol said firmly. "Just because we didn't know you were still alive that doesn't change - you have _always _been our sister. You heard how Davina recognised you. Nik included you in the family painting in the nursery. You have always had a home with us. And we're not going to sacrifice you to save the baby any more than we're going to sacrifice the baby to save you, got it?"

Freya faltered, finally meeting her brother's eyes fully. "Thank you."

Kol smiled, taking the last step forwards to embrace his older sister. "We'll fix this, Freya."

Freya clung to him for a few minutes, before pressing a kiss to his cheek. "Thank you, brother. Please tell the others that I love them and that I mean the child no harm."

"I will," Kol murmured, releasing her to Madeleine.

Maddi smiled. "Come on. Let's get you into some fresh clothes. And maybe a shower. That always makes me feel better."

Davina sighed, resting her head on Kol's shoulder as they watched his sister get led away. "I was kind of hoping she'd be the bad guy."

"I know," Kol said, wrapping an arm around her. "Keeping them both safe is not going to be easy."

"She'll find out everything she doesn't want to know," Davina said, tugging him back in the direction of the house. "Hope's not a secret."

"True," Kol said. "Let her have it for now though."

"We'll have to visit her," Davina said. "Someone needs to catch her up on the last century."

"Can't we wait until it's over?" Kol asked. "We've all waited this long. Nik won't want to visit - and we probably don't want him to either."

"We can't wait," Davina said with a sigh. "It could be years before it's over. Besides, someone has to tell her that Finn's dead - he's the only one of you that she actually spent any real time with, Christmas party notwithstanding."

"It gets better," Kol said. "Someone also needs to tell her that the person that killed Finn is now her brother-in-law."

* * *

Freya's appearance in New Orleans put everyone back on edge, but still Dahlia did not appear.

In the end, it was Kol who had gone to meet Freya - at the cemetery so Maddi didn't have to give him an invitation - to bring her up to date.

He had half-expected a Niklaus-worthy blow-up when she learned about Finn, but her reaction had been heartbreakingly muted. She had cried, of course, and asked a lot of questions.

At least he could reassure her that Finn was happier on the Other Side, something that he had made clear to Davina - Finn had never taken immortality well, even compared to Kol himself who had continuously struggled with the loss of his magic.

The months passed, the weather got colder, and before anyone knew it, it was nearly Hope's first birthday.

Two days before, Davina was on her way home from the cemetery, having been attending a coven meeting before she noticed the time.

It had been unanimously agreed that a birthday party was a bad idea, but Caroline could not abide the thought of her daughter's first birthday passing with nothing at all, so she had compromised with a nice dinner at home before the day itself, even though her mother would not be able to make it.

Officially, it was nothing more than just dinner, but everyone involved knew what was actually going on, so Davina was hurrying home so she could shower and change beforehand, when a sudden yell caused her to skid to a halt, straining to figure out where it had come from.

Another strangled yell sent her sprinting towards one of the small alleyways that littered this part of town. She had just rounded a corner when she came across a scene that made her let out a scream of pure horror.

Aiden was sprawled on the ground before her, the front of his hoodie bloodstained and his eyes wide and unseeing.

A woman stood over him and Davina met her eyes. The magic swirling around them was suffocating and Davina took a few shaky steps backwards. "Dahlia …"

The woman's mouth curved into cruel smirk and she raised her hand.

Before Davina could run, there was a piercing pain in her throat and she fell to her knees, gasping for breath.

Blood was pooling on the ground and she realised with horror that it was hers. The last thing she saw before she blacked out was Dahlia stepping over her, leaving two bodies behind her.


	8. Chapter 8

Caroline set a bowl of salad down with the rest of the food and turned to see that Klaus had set Hope down on the ground and she was toddling towards her.

She smiled, crouching down to her height, and Hope smiled back, her steps speeding up until she almost toppled into her mother's arms. "Mama!"

"Good job, baby girl!" Caroline straightened up with her. "Would you like some pasta?"

"No."

"No thank you," Caroline said automatically, although she knew that Hope didn't have those words just yet. "What would you like?"

Hope grinned. "Cake!"

"How many words is that now?" Josh asked.

"Um … five I think," Caroline said. "Mama, Dada, no, cake and yes. Kol swears she can say his name too."

"She can," Kol said appearing beside her. "Can't you darling?"

"Uca!" Hope squealed, raising her hands.

"It's more likely to be just uncle," Caroline said, "rather than Uncle Kol. Watch. Hope, who's that?" She asked, pointing at Elijah.

"Uca!"

"Who's that?" Caroline asked, point at Matt.

"Uca!"

"And who's that?" Caroline asked, pointing at Josh.

"Uca!"

"See?" Caroline said, grinning.

Kol pulled a face. "Spoil my fun, why don't you?"

"KOL!"

The atmosphere chilled immediately, Caroline immediately turning, half to shield Hope and half to block her view, as Thierry came running in, holding Davina in his arms.

Kol was at his side in a second. "What the hell happened?"

"Madeleine found her," Thierry gasped out, laying Davina on the couch. "She's alive, but only just."

The movement caused her head to loll to one side, exposing a gaping wound on the side of her neck.

Kol fell to his knees beside, biting into his wrist and holding it to her mouth. "Come on, darling. Wake up for me. Just a little."

"What imbecile," Klaus growled, "thought it would be a good idea to attack one of us?"

"That's the thing," Thierry said grimly. "Maddi tried to heal her but couldn't. She came around just enough to tell us it wasn't a vampire that attacked them. It was Dahlia."

"Jeanette," Caroline said sharply.

"I'll secure the perimeter," Jeanette said, disappearing.

"Wait," Klaus said, frowning. "You said 'them'. Not her. Who else was attacked?"

Thierry swallowed hard and handed Caroline his phone. She glanced down and immediately closed her eyes, her worst fears confirmed by the words he had typed into an unsent text.

"Maddi stayed with him," Thierry said quietly. "Someone …"

"Show me," Elijah said.

"Make sure he's in one piece please," Caroline said tiredly. "Nik, we need to talk."

Kol had finally managed to get Davina to wake a little so he could coax her to drink some of his blood. "That's it, darling. You're alright. It's alright."

"Caroline," Josh said, "do you want me to take Hope upstairs?"

Caroline hesitated. "Thank you, Josh, but no. Matt, do you mind?"

"Yeah, of course," Matt said, taking Hope from her.

"Josh, I need you to stay calm," Caroline said softly. "The other victim … It's Aiden."

Josh turned white, staggering backwards into a chair. "No …"

"I'm so sorry," Caroline whispered.

"I'll go and get Jackson," Adrian said.

Caroline nodded, wrapping her arms around Josh, closing her eyes against her own tears when he buried his face in her neck, warm tears seeping into her skin.

"Just hang on," she murmured. "Hang on for me, okay?"

She felt him nod, his arms tightening around her, and she lifted her gaze to meet Klaus's eyes.

"Is he …?" Klaus began.

"I don't know," Caroline said. "If he is …"

Klaus nodded. "We talked about this, Caroline. I wasn't sure. But I am now."

* * *

When Elijah returned, he was carrying Aiden's dead body and Caroline directed him upstairs to a spare bedroom, before turning to deal with Jackson, who had just arrived with Adrian and Madeleine.

"You have ten seconds," he growled, "before I go and deal with this myself …"

"It was Dahlia," Caroline interrupted. "She's made it look like a vampire to garner this exact reaction."

Jackson seemed to relax. "How can you be so sure?"

"Because I saw her," Davina answered weakly, from where her head was cradled in Kol's lap.

"Thank God," Madeleine whispered, hurrying to her side. "Are you alright?"

"Been better," Davina answered. "It was Dahlia. I'm sure of it."

"Davina, could you describe the woman you saw?" Klaus asked.

Davina thought about it. "It was fairly dark, but I think so."

"It might be easier to do that," Klaus said, "and I will create a composite of her, rather than Kol try and get into her head and share it with everyone who needs to know."

"Good idea," Caroline said. "In the meantime, Josh, come with me."

Josh began shaking his head. "No, Caroline - I can't … I can't see him."

"You don't have to just yet," Caroline said gently. "I just need you to come upstairs. You three as well," she added to Thierry, Madeleine and Jackson. "There's something I need to talk to you about."

"Caroline …" Klaus began.

"I've got this," Caroline said, kissing his cheek. "You deal with Dahlia." She led the way upstairs, meeting Elijah on the landing.

"I've put him in one of the spare rooms," Elijah said quietly, his eyes finding Jackson. "You have our condolences."

Jackson gave a jerky nod. "Thanks."

"Okay, give me two seconds," Caroline said. "And I promise I'll explain." She slipped into the spare room Elijah had indicated.

For a second, she couldn't move, her heart breaking at the sight in front of her. Even though she knew she had become very fond of Aiden through his relationship with Josh, it was only now that she realised how much she'd come to care for him in his own right, and it only reinforced what she would do next.

That depended, however, on whether or not Aiden had time to carry out the plan they'd formulated to stop a war.

Trying not to look at his face, at the fear etched into his features even in death, Caroline began checking his pockets, her control lapsing with every one that was empty - of course there was a possibility that it was still lying in the alleyway, discarded in the struggle and dismissed as garbage.

Or maybe Dahlia had surprised him and he hadn't had time.

She paused in her search to examine the wound in his chest. Elijah had replaced his heart, but the skin seemed to be knitting together around it, as though it had never been removed.

A spark of hope lighting in her heart, Caroline's eyes fell on Aiden's hand, clenched tightly into a fist. Gently uncurling his fingers, she found what she was looking for: a small glass vial, bloodstained - but empty.

"Good boy," Caroline whispered with a smile, ignoring the fact that Aiden was a good five or six years older than her. "Okay," she said a little louder. "You can come in. It's okay, Josh. He's going to be okay."

The door opened with a blur, and Josh appeared at her side, his eyes wide. "How?! How in hell is he going to be okay?! The bitch ripped his heart out."

"I'd like to know the answer to that question myself," Thierry answered.

Caroline waved the vial at him. "He and I had a chat months ago. We agreed that he was kind of a prime target. I gave him some of Klaus's blood, in case the worst should happen."

Jackson sighed. "But, Caroline, he still can't transition, right? So what was the point?"

"Well, first of all, he could tell us what happened," Caroline answered. "Second of all, he could say goodbye. Or …" she glanced at Josh "… make a different call."

Josh tore his gaze away from Aiden to stare at her. "But …"

"Caroline," Madeleine said gently, "there isn't a different call to make. Hybrid's have to transition on human Petrova doppelgänger blood, don't they? And werewolves can't become vampires."

"No," Caroline agreed. "If they could, Oliver would have ended up in transition. But doppelgänger blood isn't the only way."

"You said it was," Thierry and Jackson said, almost in unison.

"I did," Caroline said. "And when I said that, it was true. But something's different now."

Understanding dawned in Maddi's eyes. "Hope. Hope's blood works, doesn't it?"

Caroline nodded. "Please understand that we are not keeping this a secret for the hell of it."

"We know," Jackson said. "It's just a bit … You're saying Aiden's going to be okay?"

Caroline nodded. "If he chooses to transition. My gut tells me he will."

"Caroline …" Josh whispered. "You told me once that Hope wouldn't bleed for anyone."

Caroline smiled sadly at him. "I know. But Aiden isn't just 'anyone'. He's family."

* * *

Hope was asleep, a dead weight in Caroline's arms, but she didn't want to put her down. Since the attack, she was rarely happy to have Hope out of her sight.

Now that Aiden had stabilised, and Josh and Jeanette had taken him out to the plantation house to help him with the transition, a family meeting at been called to discuss how to protect Hope.

Various ideas were being thrown around the room, each as unlikely as the last.

Finally, Caroline cleared her throat, and everyone fell silent. "I think we know what the answer is."

"We do?" Matt asked.

"We still don't know how to stop Dahlia," Caroline said, her voice trembling. "We know from Freya that it's not as easy as just killing her, and we don't know what to do. We need time and we don't have it."

"So we buy time," Kol said. "How do you propose we do that?"

But Davina had already caught on. "We send Hope away."

"No!" Several people protested.

"It's the only way," Caroline said, rocking her daughter gently as she stirred. "If Sophie and Davina can make it look like she's still here, we can up the protections around the compound, and buy ourselves time. Dahlia wastes hers trying to get in, and when she does, Hope's not here."

"Caroline …" Klaus began.

"Tell me I'm wrong," Caroline said. "Please. Tell me I'm wrong and you have another answer."

When Klaus didn't respond, Rebekah touched his hand gently. "Matt and I can take her. We can take her far away and …"

"That won't work," Sophie interrupted. "Sorry, Rebekah. I know that your instinct will be to have one of you with her, and I get that. But if Dahlia figures out that Hope's not here and one of you is missing, it's going to be kind of obvious where she is."

Matt squeezed his wife's hand. "She's right. But by that logic, everyone we know is going to be a problem. If she figures it out and none of us are missing - she'll go to Mystic Falls, right? And if one of them is missing, we'll be in the same position."

"We're going to cloak them though," Davina said. "So even if Dahlia knows who she's with, she'd still have to find them."

"But if she knows who she's with, that task gets easier," Sophie pointed out.

"What about Elena?" Caroline suggested. "Katherine could pretend to be her every now and then - an onlooker could be fooled into thinking they were both there."

"No, that's no good either," Sophie said with a sigh. "No witch looking at a vampire as old as Katherine is going to believe she's only a few years old."

Caroline deflated. "Never mind then."

Hope stirred a little, letting out a little sigh against her neck, and Caroline tightened her arms, closing her eyes against the tears that threatened her composure.

It was comforting to know that everyone in the room was desperate to protect Hope and that they would all understand her grief at the very thought of sending her daughter away.

But none of them would understand completely. Not even Klaus, who she knew adored Hope as much as she did, could possibly understand the bond formed through thirty-eight weeks of pregnancy and the wrenching pain she felt even now, before anything had happened, like part of her soul was being ripped away.

Her eyes flew open, a sudden idea dawning. "What about the other way round?"

"Sorry?" Sophie asked, startled.

"Katherine couldn't fool a witch into thinking that her aura belonged to a three-year-old vampire," Caroline said. "But surely some vampires have weaker auras, right? Could Elena fool a witch into thinking she was actually a lot older?"

"Yes," Sophie said slowly. "That's possible."

Caroline turned to Klaus, who shook his head. "No. Absolutely not."

"Nik," Caroline said softly. "It won't be for long. And it's the only way."

* * *

**You didn't really think I'd kill Aiden off, did you? I'm still mad at Julie for that one.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Thank you so much for your support for this story so far, it makes me smile every time I get a review/comment - for those of you asking why Davina didn't just make two maps - she can't be expected to think of everything and neither can I, so let's just pretend there's a reason, okay?**

**As you may have noticed, this does not exactly follow canon - while there may be some things I borrow, they will likely appear in different forms. I already dropped one hint a few chapters ago - well done to anyone who spotted it ;)**

**That said, in this chapter, there is a certain amount of talk about what years things happened in - this may not fit with canon - if it doesn't I don't care. It may not fit with actual historical facts either, but I already have one history book in the works; I don't have the energy to be that invested with this one!**

* * *

A few days later, as the sun began to set on New Orleans, a light blue Camaro pulled up on the outskirts, hidden within the trees.

Damon leaned against the hood, re-reading the letter from Caroline that had appeared in his pocket two days earlier. The ink was tear-stained in places, both from Caroline writing it and Elena reading it.

Even Katherine had looked suspiciously damp-eyed, before agreeing that they would need to help them.

After what seemed like an age, he felt something brush against him and he heaved a sigh, tucking the letter back in his pocket. Rounding the car to the passenger side, he opened the door and pulled a road map from the glove compartment, waiting a good few minutes before closing the door.

Katherine had never come across a cloaking spell that actually made someone invisible, until Bonnie had overcharged one in the rather frantic weeks between Elena's transition and the truce with the Originals.

It had been very useful getting her out of the compound and out to the car, but it now meant that she had to wait for several hours before Damon could see or hear her.

Thankfully, the child on her lap was fast asleep. She had been quite happy for Katherine to take her out of the house despite being obviously tired, but had drifted off on the way - and she had a feeling that Hope wouldn't be nearly so happy about it when she woke up.

The drive was obviously quiet and Damon did not even bother with the radio, his entire body tense. Every now and then, he switched direction, just in case someone had followed them.

Finally, the spell lifted, and Damon winced as the car was suddenly filled with the sounds of a crying child. "Oh dear."

"It's alright, baby girl," Katherine murmured, stroking her hair. "It's okay."

Hope sniffled. "Mama!"

"I know you want Mama," Katherine said. "You'll see her soon, sweetheart. But we're going on vacation! You and me and Uncle Damon are going to have lots of fun, aren't we?"

"Absolutely," Damon said, when Katherine gave him a sharp look. "You just wait, Hope; we've got so much fun stuff, you wouldn't believe it. On a side note," he added, "you've never looked so good."

Katherine rolled her eyes, rubbing Hope's back. "That's because I've been invisible."

"Yeah, I know and it's really, really weird," Damon said, pulling up outside a foreclosure. "Is this town not too crowded?"

"No," Katherine answered. "You should know by now, Damon, that it's easier to hide when there's more people. The quieter the town, the nosier the neighbours, and we don't need nosy neighbours. You put the compulsion over the town, right?"

"Of course," Damon said. "They all think we've been here the entire time, and the fact that Hope is blonde is not suspicious in the least. Also, they don't talk to us."

"Was that part necessary?" Katherine asked.

"We both know that we'll be suspicious of everyone that talks to us anyway," Damon said. "May as well save it for people that actually are."

"True. Did you get everything?"

Damon got out and sped round to open her door for her. "Naturally. I got everything on your list. Out of interest, you know this is supposed to be temporary, don't you?"

"I do," Katherine said, handing Hope out to him. "But I also know that she is not going to understand any of this, so the more normal we can make this, the better."

* * *

According to Caroline, Hope was sleeping through the night now.

It was three in the morning and she was crying, so apparently no one had told Hope that.

Katherine sat up and glanced over at Damon, who hadn't even flinched.

"Like the dead," she muttered, getting out of bed.

She slipped out of the bedroom and across the hall to the room they had claimed as a nursery.

Hope was standing up in the crib, her face red and wet with tears. "Mama?"

"Mama's not here, Hope," Katherine said quietly. "You need to stay with Auntie Kat and Uncle Damon for a bit, okay?"

Hope shook her head. "Want mama."

That was a new word. Katherine made a mental note to write it down so she could tell Caroline once Dahlia was dealt with, and held her arms out. "How about a cuddle instead?"

Thankfully, apparently she was an acceptable substitute because Hope nodded and let Katherine lift her out of the crib. She wrapped her little arms around Katherine's neck and rested her head on her shoulder, still shaking a little bit from her tears.

Katherine pressed a kiss to her hair. "Let's get some warm milk, shall we?"

Hope nodded again and Katherine carried her downstairs to the kitchen, flicking the light.

"Well," she said with a sigh, "this is why I should have chosen the foreclosure."

Part of their preparations (harried though they were) had left Damon to find somewhere for them to live (albeit in the town she had chosen) while she talked to Bonnie about protective talismans.

However, for some reason, the house he had found had no microwave, so she set about warming the milk on the stove top.

Finally she sat down at the table with Hope happily drinking her milk from a bottle.

"Katherine?"

"Down here," Katherine answered, rocking Hope gently.

Damon appeared a second later. "What happened?"

"Seriously?" Katherine asked. "You don't hear her crying, but you notice I'm not in bed?"

"Oh." Damon sat down beside her. "Is she okay?"

"She misses Caroline," Katherine answered with a sigh, "which is understandable."

Damon sighed. "Can we really do this?"

"Of course we can," Katherine said, with more than a little false confidence. "Caroline's given me a schedule. It's colour-coded."

Damon cracked a smile. "Of course it is."

* * *

The hardest part was keeping a smile on her face in public, just in case Dahlia was watching. Thankfully, no one was going to expect Caroline to be going out much, since they were 'keeping Hope inside'.

With the blinds drawn in the nursery, Caroline sat in the window seat, one of Hope's stuffed animals held tight against her chest.

The pain was unlike anything she had ever felt before, a physical ache in her chest that almost tempted her to reach for the switch, were it not for the fact that she knew her daughter was safe, just not with her.

Soft footfalls brought a tiny smile to her lips and she allowed herself to lean sideways, trusting Klaus to catch her, as always.

He pressed a kiss to her forehead. "Madeleine's here. We're having a meeting."

Caroline sighed. "What's the point, Nik? This will be the fifth meeting in as many days and we still don't have an answer."

"This one's different," Klaus said, a note of satisfaction in his voice. "Sophie has an idea."

That was enough to spur Caroline into getting to her feet, placing the teddy bear back in the crib. "Okay then."

Klaus caught her arm. "When was the last time you ate, love?"

"This morning," Caroline answered automatically.

"Are you sure?" Klaus asked, touching her cheek. "You're looking very pale."

Caroline thought back. "No … I had a coffee this morning. I had a blood bag last night … No, I didn't."

"Too long then," Klaus said, drawing her into his arms.

Caroline brushed a kiss to his throat. "I can get a blood bag."

"Won't be enough if you haven't fed in over twenty-four hours," Klaus said. "Just take what you need."

She should have more control really, but she didn't have the energy or the strength to do so. Her fangs slid into his neck before she could really think about it, his blood flooding down her throat.

She felt his teeth scrape against her shoulder and she pulled back, giving him a very bloody smile. "Did you forget again?"

"I don't know why you find it funny," Klaus grumbled, handing her a handkerchief. "My bite could kill you."

"Not with your blood in my veins it can't," Caroline said, wiping her mouth. "I don't mind, you know."

"You once said it was painful," Klaus reminded her.

"_Any_ bite is painful if you're not careful," Caroline said. "Aside from the time you were unconscious and I shoved my arm in your mouth, you've never hurt me. Have I got it all?"

"All clear, love," Klaus said, taking her arm. "Let's see what Sophie has for us."

Everyone else had gathered in the dining room, seated around the large table, with the exception of Sophie who was pacing up and down.

"There you are," she said with great relief when they entered.

"Nik says you have something," Caroline said, taking a seat beside Davina, who squeezed her hand.

"Well, first of all, the protections around the compound are still holding," Sophie said, "so we've still got time. Second of all, I've talked to Freya, and Maddi and I have done some extensive reading, and we've got a weapon that will kill her."

"Why do I feel," Caroline said, grabbing Klaus's arms before he could marshal the troops, "that it's not that simple?"

"Because it's not," Sophie said, pulling a face. "It's a blade forged with the three sources of Dahlia's power - sacred earth from her homeland, the body of her oppressors and the blood of the thing she loves the most."

"What is with ancient magic and riddles?" Matt asked wearily.

"There really wasn't much else to do back then," Kol answered. "So to clarify, Sophie, this weapon will kill Dahlia?"

"It will unravel the spell she's used to keep herself alive," Sophie said. "Unfortunately, the one thing I don't know is if doing that will also destroy Freya as well."

"Does Freya know that?" Rebekah asked quietly.

Thus far, it was only Kol who had met Freya, partly because only Kol could actually enter the cemetery, and partly because his other siblings couldn't shake the thought that they would lose her again.

"She knows," Maddi answered. "She said to tell you all that she'll deal with whatever the fallout is, and if her options are dead and safe from Dahlia, or alive and running from her, that she'd take the first one, because she's just exhausted."

"Poor thing," Caroline murmured.

"Back to the weapon," Sophie said, "we are need to gather the ingredients."

"The blood is easy," Maddi said. "It's Freya. The other two we're stuck on."

"Hang on, so what was it?" Davina asked. "Sacred something …?"

"Sacred earth from her homeland," Sophie repeated, "and the body of her oppressors."

"Okay, so her homeland would be where she was born, presumably," Caroline said. "So where was that?"

"Norway," Elijah answered. "At least that's what it's called now. So earth from Norway?"

"That would work," Sophie agreed. "The body of her oppressors is more difficult though. Who can possibly oppress a witch that powerful?"

"I have a dying memory," Matt said slowly, "of European history … Mr Tanner did like three lessons on it, right, Care?"

"I think most of us zoned out," Caroline said, frowning. "But you're right, he did … And … Hang on, when did you guys die?"

To her amusement, the four siblings looked at each other and all shrugged.

"You don't know what year you died?" Matt asked his wife.

"In my defence," Rebekah said, "we didn't have much need for a calendar in those days. You marked the harvest and the solstices. Is it important?"

"Yes," Caroline said with a sigh. "The Vikings invaded Norway, but the question is whether Dahlia was born before or after. Because if she was born before, then they could be the oppressors. If she was born after, then it's more likely she's one of them and therefore it was someone else."

"Father was a Viking warrior," Elijah said quietly. "But I'm afraid I don't know the answer to your question, Caroline."

Caroline heaved another sigh and pulled out her phone. "Okay, math time."

"Can you really figure it out?" Rebekah asked.

"I think so," Caroline said, "given some information. Elijah, you were twenty-five when you died, correct?"

"That's correct," he confirmed.

"Okay, so we know the doppelgängers are five hundred years apart," Caroline said. "Elena was born 1992, because Katherine died 1492. We know that Katherine was nineteen when she died so she must have been born 1473, which means the hybrid curse was placed in 973. Assuming that you hadn't been a vampire long when you triggered the curse, that was the year you died."

"That sounds about right," Klaus said faintly.

"So take away 25," Caroline said, "and knowing that Esther was pregnant when you came to America, that happened in 948 or thereabouts, which must have also been when Freya 'died' - how old was she?"

"Five," Kol answered promptly. "So she was born in 943. Given time for the pregnancy and for Mother to realise she couldn't conceive, she and Father probably married around … 941?"

"Which was only a few years after the Viking invasion," Matt finished. "So the Vikings would be the oppressors, but where the hell are we going to get the body of a Viking?"

"There's got to be a museum somewhere," Rebekah said. "Probably in Europe. They don't mind whose graves they desecrate."

"I've still got Father's ashes," Klaus said.

"Of course you do," Caroline muttered.

"They're back at the house in Mystic Falls," he continued.

"I can go and get that," Jeanette offered. "I can go on my way to Norway and get some soil or something - does it matter where from?"

"Somewhere near the Swedish border would be best," Elijah said. "That would mean you're definitely in the right place. The borders were all rather different then."

"And you'd best get it from a cemetery or a graveyard," Sophie added. "The spell specifies sacred earth, so it will need to be consecrated."

"Thank you Jeanette," Caroline said.

Jeanette gave her a smile, getting to her feet. "Not at all. I'll leave now." She squeezed Caroline's shoulder as she passed. "Keep smiling. She'll be home in no time."


	10. Chapter 10

The waiting was the worst part.

As the days passed and they waited for Jeanette to return, it wasn't just Caroline who was on edge.

"If Dahlia killed Damon and Katherine, we wouldn't hear anything," Kol said one afternoon, staring out of the window. "What if she's already won?"

"They are protected by protective spells formed by me, Sophie, Madeleine _and_ Bonnie," Davina pointed out. "If something had happened, at least one of us would have felt something."

Kol sighed. "Maybe I should have taken Mother's offer so we had another Mikaelson witch; it's not like Freya can help us, she's terrified of Dahlia."

"Kol, we've talked about this," Davina said, setting her paintbrush down and wiping her hands. "It was never going to be a good idea."

"What about children?" Kol asked, finally turning to look at her. "Do you want them?"

Davina hesitated. "That's a moot point, Kol."

"It wouldn't have needed to be if I'd taken the offer," Kol said, turning back to the window.

Davina wrapped her arms around his waist, resting her head against his back. "I was sixteen when I met you. I hadn't got around to thinking about children. If we were both human, things would be different, yes. But …" she said, over Kol's almost interruption "… if you'd taken Esther's offer, any children we hadn't wouldn't be _your_ children. They'd be the children of whatever poor asshole you'd been jumped into."

"I hadn't thought about that," Kol admitted.

Davina pressed a kiss to his shoulder. "We'll get through this, Kol. And we'll get through it with you. Not witch-possessing you."

* * *

Caroline felt like she had more or less moved into the nursery. Once again, she was sat in the window seat, gazing out at the street below. There was so much magic around the compound that she swore it was tangible in the air.

Jeanette was due back any day now and she was starting to get impatient.

A soft knock on the door got her attention, and she glanced over to see Adrian just outside. "Sorry, Caroline, but Camille's downstairs. We've checked and it's definitely her; she's not possessed or anything."

"Thank you, Adrian," Caroline said quietly. "I'll be right down."

"Of course." Adrian paused. "She seems upset."

That caught Caroline's attentions and she jumped to her feet and hurried down to the living room where Camille was waiting.

Sure enough, her eyes were rimmed with red, and she started crying again as soon as she saw Caroline.

Wrapping her arms around her, Caroline led her into the kitchen and sat her down at the table, before busying herself with making a cup of tea.

"Here," she murmured, pressing the mug into Cami's hands. "What happened? Is it your uncle?"

"Yes," Cami sniffled. "He's okay," she added hastily. "But … did you know that he knew about vampires and everything?"

Caroline hesitated. "I did. I didn't find out until after I told you, and I assumed that he'd found out recently."

"He hadn't," Camille said. "He told me what happened to Sean."

Caroline froze. "What …?"

"He had an argument with the coven elders," Cami whispered. "He told them that the Harvest ritual was a desecration and that he couldn't support it, even to get rid of Marcel, and Agnes gave my brother a cursed object that drove him mad."

"Oh God …" Caroline tugged Cami closer, resting her head atop hers, letting her cry into her shoulder. "I knew Agnes was a problem," she said, once the tears had subsided a little. "Given the mess in the coven, I left it to the other elders to deal with. Agnes was the last 'proper' elder so to speak, and the others needed her guidance. One of the others, Madeleine, got all the old secrets from Agnes and she's been imprisoned in the Dowager Fauline Cottage, which is their prison."

"I'll take that," Cami said, pulling back to wipe her eyes. "Honestly, I'm more upset with Uncle Kieron. He knew all about vampires and never gave me any way to protect myself."

Caroline winced, her words cutting a little too close. "Maybe he didn't have one. Vervain isn't actually that common anymore. It has to be cultivated. I thought that about my mom when I turned. I'd been compelled when I was human and when I found out that she knew all about vampires, I had that exact thought. But vervain was thin on the ground at the time. By the time it wasn't, Elena had given me a bracelet."

Camille sniffed. "Maybe. Anyway, I didn't just come to tell you that." She reached down and picked up a bag Caroline hadn't noticed earlier. "When my parents died, they left me this huge collection of old artefacts. I keep them in a little room in my apartment - I didn't know what any of them were, but they stipulated that I had to keep them because they didn't want them leaving the family."

"Okay …" Caroline said slowly.

"Turns out they're almost all supernatural or black magic in origin," Camille said, pulling out a set of shackles. "I thought that these might help you. They're anti-magic shackles. Any witch wearing them won't be able to do any magic."

"Cami, that's …" Caroline began, when the building suddenly shook.

"What's that?!" Cami asked, jumping to her feet.

Caroline did the same. "Nik?!"

Klaus appeared in the doorway. "I've been informed that's an attack on the compound protections. Jeanette's just got back; Sophie's going to create the dagger on the move - stay here; we're going after her."

"Wait …" Caroline called, but he'd disappeared. "Oh, for the love of …"

"Caroline?" Cami asked, her voice shaking. "What do we do?"

"I'm going to take you home," Caroline said firmly. "Then I'll go and find them."

"Take the bag," Cami said. "I can make my own way."

"I'd rather you didn't," Caroline said, peering out of the front door.

The darkening street was empty, except for Adrian and Felicia, who were speaking in quiet undertones. They broke apart when Caroline stepped out of the compound.

"What can we do?" Adrian asked.

"Glad you asked," Caroline said. "Can you please walk Cami home; I'm going to find the others."

Cami's phone rang and she glanced at it, pulling a face. "I don't want to talk to Uncle Kieron right now."

"Caroline, do you want me to stay with Hope?" Felicia asked.

Caroline hesitated. "No," she said finally. "She's not here. But Matt and Davina are, so I'd appreciate it if you could keep an eye out and let me know …"

Cami's phone went to voicemail before she could finish. _"Cami, I know you're angry with me, and I understand that. But please … don't go near the church today. Something's happening; I don't know what it is, but it feels evil. Stay home, sweetheart, and stay safe."_

"I'm taking that as a hint," Caroline said grimly. "Felicia, let me know if anyone comes by."

"Of course," Felicia said. "Good luck!"

Caroline gave her a wave and took off in the direction of St Anne's.

She arrived expecting a fight, but the church was quiet. She entered cautiously, but still almost immediately fell over Rebekah, who was picking herself up.

"Well done, Caroline," she grumped.

"Well, I didn't expect you to be right there," Caroline said, helping her up. "What the hell happened?" Her eyes fell on Sophie, who was lying motionless a few feet away, and she hurried over to check on her.

She was breathing, but didn't respond to Caroline's attempts to wake her.

"It was a spell," Rebekah said, tugging Kol to his feet as well. "The dagger didn't work, and then Dahlia destroyed it."

"How?!" Caroline demanded. "They were so certain!"

"Clearly they were wrong," Klaus growled.

"And, quite frankly," Kol added. "That was rather humiliating."

"She's far stronger than I gave her credit for," Klaus said, scowling. "And she …"

"Caroline!" Madeleine came sprinting into the church, almost skidding on the flagstone floor. "Oh, God, what happened?"

"The weapon didn't work," Elijah answered flatly.

"That doesn't make sense," Maddi said frowning. "Everything said it would."

"Well, it didn't," Klaus snapped.

"Nik, please," Caroline said. "Maddi, how did you know I was here?"

"Adrian called me," Maddi answered. "Said you might need some back up, but then we had our own problem."

"What?" Caroline asked.

"Dahlia," Maddi said grimly. "She came to the cemetery and took Freya - she's going to sacrifice her in order to find Hope."


	11. Chapter 11

Caroline felt as though her heart had stopped and she felt her knees begin to buckle. "Nik …"

Klaus was at her side in a second. "We'll stop her, love."

"How?!" Caroline demanded. "How the hell are we going to stop a witch powerful enough to take the four of you out without breaking a sweat?"

"The dagger should have worked," Maddi said firmly. "We must have done something wrong."

"We'll find Dahlia and Freya," Klaus said, pressing a kiss to Caroline's hairline. "We'll stall her. You figure out a solution."

Sophie stirred at Caroline's feet and she dropped to her knees beside her again.

"Go," she said hastily. "We'll figure something out. Sophie?"

Sophie's eyes fluttered open and she sucked in a breath. "What did we do wrong?"

"We need to figure that out," Caroline said, helping her up. "She's going to sacrifice Freya to find Hope and I'm about to lose it."

"Okay, deep breaths," Maddi said. "Let's try and figure this out. Sophie, did you use everything to create the dagger?"

"No," Sophie answered, rifling in her pockets. "I've still got some of everything left, so we just need to figure out what went wrong."

"It's got to be the blood," Caroline said. "We had to work out the other two; we just assumed that the person she loved the most was Freya."

"Yes, but who else could it be?" Maddi asked. "She raised Freya; how could it not be Freya?"

"That's not love, though," Sophie said. "It's possessiveness. Freya belongs to her, but she wants Hope now, so she's happy to kill Freya to get to her."

"Then who?" Caroline asked. "I'm not even sure Dahlia is capable of love."

"Well, she must have been at some point," Sophie said. "Finn told Jeremy and Davina that Dahlia was furious with Esther for leaving her to get married and …" she trailed off. "Esther. It's Esther. All of this started with Esther breaking her promise to stay with her sister and she's still furious after all these years. That kind of hate only comes from love."

Caroline shook her head. "That can't be right."

"Caroline, I think she's right," Maddi said gently. "Esther's the only other option."

"It can't be," Caroline said, painfully aware that her voice was rising in pitch. "Esther is dead and she practically disintegrated; how the hell are we supposed to get her blood?! Obviously the blood of a child doesn't work, otherwise Freya's would have."

"Caroline, calm down," Sophie said gently. "No one ever cleared up the cabin and the ash is still there."

"Hang on," Maddi protested. "You're not seriously suggesting we resurrect her?!"

"Do you have another idea?" Sophie asked. "You agree with me on the blood, right?"

Maddi sighed. "Yes, I do. But I don't see how resurrecting Esther is going to help us. What's going to stop her from just grabbing Freya and leaving us all to deal with Dahlia?"

"Is there any way to just reform her body and take the blood from there?" Caroline asked.

"Ironically, no," Maddi said. "It's actually easier to resurrect her than to do that. We could use the ashes and the rest of Freya's blood to do that, but we're still left with how to control her."

Caroline retrieved the bag she'd dropped when she hurried to check on Sophie. "I might have the answer to that. Camille inherited these from her parents."

Maddi peeked into the bag. "Oh for … The coven's been looking for those for years! Anti-magic shackles," she added to Sophie. "Okay, I'll go along with this madness, on the condition that we put Esther down again afterwards, or the ancestors will be furious."

* * *

The cabin still gave Caroline the chills, but she busied herself with gathering the ashes together into a pile while Sophie reformed the dagger.

"Don't we need the blood first?" Caroline asked.

"Not necessarily," Sophie answered. "You don't need magic to add the blood, but if you add it without, it will need to be fresh. This is going to be a big spell; it could very well drain both of us."

"The ashes will be of Lenore's body," Caroline said now. "Is that going to cause a problem?"

"Yes," Maddi said. "That's why it's probably going to drain us. Resurrection is hard enough, but we need her original body, so that's going to complicate matters."

"If that happens," Sophie said grimly, pulling the rest of Freya's blood from her pocket, "leave us, and go, okay? We'll be fine."

"Okay, good luck," Caroline said, stepping back. "And thank you."

The two witches began chanting, drizzling the blood over the ashes, and Caroline grasped the shackles, shifting from foot to foot, squinting as light began forming where the liquid hit, growing brighter and brighter, before forming into a woman's body, painfully familiar and clearly startled.

Caroline blurred forwards, clapping on the shackles before Esther could react. "Hello again."

There were two thuds as Maddi and Sophie both dropped to the ground.

Caroline glanced at them, reassuring herself that they were both still breathing. "We have a meeting to get to."

"Aren't you going to check on them?" Esther asked.

"They're fine," Caroline said briskly, marching her towards the door. "You want your daughter back and I want mine safe - all of a sudden, those two goals have coincided. Time for a family reunion."

* * *

Caroline's phone rang just as they stepped into the Quarter.

_"Caroline, she's here - we need that knife - we can't …"_

The call dropped with a horrible noise that caused Caroline to wince.

"That was a spell," Esther said softly. She strode along at Caroline's side, her arms covered in the jacket Caroline had draped over her, one elbow in Caroline's tight grip. "It's Dahlia, isn't it?"

"She's going after my baby," Caroline said, her voice catching.

"I can't help you," Esther said softly. "I'm no match for Dahlia."

Caroline smiled tightly. "I love the fact that you think I'd trust you to try to stop her."

"This is the first time I died," Esther said. "Properly died. It was the first time I actually moved _on_, Caroline. And do you know what that does? It gives you perspective."

"That's nice," Caroline said, turning into the street the compound was on, "but I …"

She trailed off, seeing a body slumped just outside the front door.

Caroline faltered, reluctant to see who it was, and it was Esther that urged her forwards.

It was Felicia, and for a second Caroline allowed herself to hope that it was just a snapped neck, but the grey tinge to her skin said otherwise.

Steeling herself, Caroline forced herself to step over her dead body and led Esther inside.

A woman Caroline recognised from Klaus's sketch was standing in the middle of the courtyard inside a magic circle, with Freya crumpled at her feet held up only by her captor's iron grip.

Her siblings were facing her, unable to get to Dahlia through the circle.

"And you must be Caroline," Dahlia said with a cold smile, turning to look at her. Her eyes fell on Esther and she faltered, the first sign of any chink in the armour. "My sister in chains." She gave a cold laugh. "Is she to be a gift?"

"Leave my daughter alone." The words spilled out of Caroline's mouth before she could stop them, her hand clenched around the hilt of the dagger.

Dahlia's smile widened, apparently over the shock of seeing her sister. "That trinket can't harm me, Caroline."  
She was right, of course.

It was harmless until Esther's blood was on it - and even then, she had no way of getting it over the magical barrier.

"Give the child to me now," Dahlia said. "It will make things far easier. People have already died."

Caroline finally wrenched her eyes away from her to look towards the staircase. Davina was crumpled in a heap, but Caroline could see her chest moving.

Matt lay not far away from her, his head at an unnatural angle.

He had Rebekah's blood in his system though. He had to.

A quick glance at Rebekah showed no sign of distress - although that could be a thousand years of experience.

"I will not hand over my child," Caroline said, shaking those thoughts from her head. "My baby is not a bargaining chip and she does _not_ belong to you."

"But you see, my dear, she does," Dahlia said. "Esther promised her to me a thousand years ago. But then you're not very good at keeping your promises, are you, sister?"

"The child was my way of keeping my promise," Esther said.

But Caroline narrowed her eyes. "Technically, she was your way of getting Freya back. And I don't think that's the promise she's talking about, are you?"

"You promised me always and forever, sister," Dahlia hissed. "And you broke that promise and abandoned me to marry that Viking brute." She smiled again suddenly, regaining her composure. "But tonight, sister, I complete my vengeance." She reached into her jacket and pulled out a stake - a very white, very familiar stake.

The air seemed to freeze around them and Caroline released Esther's arm. "Where the hell did you get that?!"

"I cut it from the tree before it burnt down," Dahlia said simply. "I had been watching and waiting - I took it purely for this moment, and I have kept it all these years despite thinking I had missed my chance to make my sister feel the pain I did."

"You took my daughter," Esther cried. "Was that not enough?"

"You had other children," Dahlia shouted. "You had a family. You _were_ my family and you took that away from me. I vowed to take everything from you. Freya was just the start."

"Unfortunately for you," Klaus said, "that stake is very much a one-trick pony. You can only use it once, and there are four of us."

Dahlia didn't answer, but raised her arm, pointing the stake towards the ceiling. With a flash of light, ash began falling like snow. "And now, sister," she whispered, "let us watch as I burn your children from the inside."

She flexed her fingers.

The four siblings gasped involuntarily, sucking in the ash that flew towards them, and Caroline watched in horror as they collapsed, choking on it as it crept towards their hearts.

"NO!"

She blurred to Klaus's side, her hands hovering, unable to do anything to stem the panic in his eyes, or the way darkness crept through his veins.

Her own breath was starting to come less easily, whether due to the sire bond or the panic, she didn't know.

Beside her, Rebekah screamed in agony and Caroline rose to her feet, fire in her veins, only to be frozen in space by Dahlia's next spell.

Esther's eyes were fixed on her children now, dawning horror creeping across her face, and Caroline began to feel some hope that maybe she meant what she said about death bringing new perspective - except Esther had no magic right now, and she was unable to free her.

Dahlia pulled Freya roughly to her knees, one hand at her throat, her eyes fixed on the sky through the window at the top of the staircase. "It is time. Soon I shall have the child." She looked straight at Caroline. "And I will destroy everyone who stands in my way."

Her hand tightened and Freya began gasping for air.

"You still blame me after all these years?" Esther asked, her voice shaking.

Dahlia laughed coldly. "Do not speak to me about blame, Esther. You like blaming others for your transgressions, don't you? You blame me for taking the child you promised me. You curse your son for being the product of an affair you had, condemn your children for the monsters you created. Suffocation is a slow way to die, they say - how many lives did you condemn when you suffocated Tatia?"

Frozen in place, Caroline could only watch as her family slowly died at her feet.

"Dahlia, wait!" Esther said suddenly. "You have won. Look around you. You have bested us all. And you were right. I was so focused on being a good wife that I forgot that it was far more important to be a good mother and a good sister. And I failed at both."

Dahlia's grip faltered and she finally looked her sister in the eye.

"At least let me try to make it right," Esther whispered, stepping closer to her. "Let me share with you the glorious freedom that I have found - in death!"

In a split-second, she had stepped into the circle and thrown the chains around Dahlia's neck, holding her tightly.

Finally freed of the spell, Freya collapsed. Although gasping for her, she threw her hands out, destroying the circle and ridding her brothers and sister of the ash in one movement.

Caroline suddenly found herself able to move and she stumbled.

"Be quick!" Esther called. "Niklaus!"

"Her blood," Caroline said hastily, throwing him the dagger. "She's the one."

Klaus caught it and blurred forward. In one movement, he had thrust the dagger into his mother's back and through into his aunt's chest.

Magic ripped through the compound, strong enough to knock them all off their feet.

Caroline landed heavily, rolling a couple of times with the impact. She ended up lying on her back, as winded as a vampire could get, wincing as her ribs knitted back together.

Klaus appeared in her field of vision and she blinked, taking his hand so he could pull her to her feet. "Are you alright, love?"

"I think so," Caroline answered, leaning against him. "Is it over?"

"It's over," he said, holding her close. "We're officially orphans."


	12. Chapter 12

**The next story in the series was supposed to be Transgressions, which followed Hope as a teenager. However as that story unfolded, I realised that I would need far too many flashbacks to make that work.**

**So the next story is being written and will be an immediate sequel to this one.**

**HOWEVER there are still two more chapters after this, so hang tight :)**

* * *

Caroline closed her eyes and buried her face in Klaus's shoulder, taking a few moments to regain her composure.

Finally, she lifted her head to survey the room.

Unsurprisingly, Rebekah and Kol were knelt beside Matt and Davina, and unsurprisingly, Freya was still slumped in the broken magic circle next to …

Caroline blinked. Esther appeared to have turned to ash again, but this time Dahlia had turned with her, and rather than exploding, they were frozen in an immortalised embrace, like some gothic sculpture.

Elijah was leaning against one of the pillars, staring at them, clearly as taken aback as she was, but their fate was the least of her concern.

Leaving Klaus and Elijah to look after Freya, she headed for the front door, stepping out into the night to find a veritable army waiting on the streets.

"What happened?" Thierry demanded. "We can't get past this barrier."

"Dahlia's dead, so it's probably gone now," Caroline said, sitting down on her front step beside Felicia. Her eyes were still open and Caroline sighed, reaching over to close them gently. "I'm so sorry that so many of you got sucked into all this."

She felt rather than heard them all move closer, but didn't look up from the body beside her. She was beginning to appreciate how Elena felt during the whole sacrifice debacle, people dying around her, and having to deal with both the grief and the guilt at the same time.

"Do you ever get tired of apologising for things that aren't your fault?" Jackson asked.

Caroline finally looked up with a weak smile. "Unlike some people, I haven't lived for a thousand years. It's not something I'm used to. And I don't want to ever get used to it." With a heavy sigh, she got to her feet. "Jeanette?"

"I should have gone with them," Jeanette said, guilt lining her face. "Klaus sent me to the plantation house to keep an eye on Josh and Aiden; I should have stayed."

"No offence, but you wouldn't have made a difference," Caroline said. "Adrian walked Cami home; can you let him know what's happened. Thierry, can you please do me a favour?"

"Anything," Thierry said immediately.

"There's a cabin in the bayou," Caroline said. "I left Sophie and Maddi there, unconscious - can you please go and check on them and make sure they get home safely. Diego," she added, as Thierry disappeared. "I'm so sorry."

Diego approached slowly, looking at Felicia's body instead of her. "It's not your fault."

"Doesn't stop me from being sorry," Caroline said heavily. "If you need anything …"

"We know," Diego said, giving her a brief smile. "I'll take care of everything. You need to be with your family."

Caroline nodded, turning to return inside. To her surprise, she found Freya still unconscious where she left her, and Klaus hovering over Elijah, who was sat at the bottom of the staircase, his head in his hands.

"Okay, what have I missed?" Caroline asked, striding over to them. "I figured that you were the two I wouldn't need to look after."

Elijah managed a small smile. "I see you are well and truly in mother-mode."

Caroline blushed a little, but did not deny the description. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Elijah said, getting to his feet and brushing down his suit. "I think we're all a little shaken. Nothing a good meal and a night's rest won't fix."

Caroline watched him ascend the stairs with concern, turning to Klaus to see the exact same expression on his face.

"I don't know," Klaus said before she could ask.

Caroline glanced back at Freya. "Which one do you want?"

Klaus followed her gaze. "Elijah has been propping me up for a thousand years. I'm probably well overdue to return the favour."

Caroline nodded, brushing a kiss against his cheek, and moved to Freya's side, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Freya? Freya, can you hear me?"

Blue eyes flickered open and met hers, and Caroline gave her what she hoped was a friendly smile. "Hi Freya. I'm Caroline, Nik's …" she trailed off - girlfriend never sounded quite right to her. "I'm Hope's mother."

Freya's face lit up in a smile. "Hope? That's her name?"

Caroline nodded, helping her to her feet. "Thank you for being the aunt I was hoping you'd be."

As the words left her, they sounded a bit ridiculous, but Freya just nodded, as though she had expected it. "You're welcome. They're … They're dead, aren't they?"

Caroline nodded, trying not to look at the statue Freya was staring at. "I'm afraid so. I'm sorry you never got a chance to speak to your mother."

"I don't know what I would have said," Freya murmured, allowing Caroline to lead her away towards the stairs. "It was probably for the best."

"How are you feeling?" Caroline asked. "I know that Maddi said they weren't sure if killing Dahlia would have any effect on you."

Freya was silent as they made their way upstairs, taking deep breaths in a way that sounded like she didn't necessarily need to, but was reassuring herself that she could still do so. "I'm not sure. I don't think it had any effect on me," she added. "But I'm not sure how I feel. I've been running from her for so long … I don't know how to handle this now."

Caroline nodded, stopping outside one of the empty rooms and opening the door. "Well, no offence, but you look beat to hell. So a hot bath will probably do you a world of good. Would you like a first aid kit?"

Freya shook her head, her eyes running over the neatly made bed, stocked bookshelves, and family pictures. "I can sort myself out, thank you. Will they mind me borrowing their room?"

Caroline smiled. "It's your room. We set it up in the hopes that you'd be able to use it one day, if you wanted it."

Freya faltered, turning to look at her. "Sorry?"

"None of us do particularly well with not being able to do anything," Caroline said. "When Kol and Davina came home and told us that you were back, and staying with Maddi because it wasn't safe … Well, we couldn't do anything. We couldn't fix it; we couldn't make it safe. All we could do was make sure that you could come home when it was safe. Everyone donated a favourite book - figured you probably haven't had much time to catch up on things. I thought you'd appreciate this as well." She plucked one of the photo frames from off the dresser and handed it to Freya, who sank onto the mattress, staring at it.

"I think it's the only photograph of all five of them," Caroline said softly, sitting beside her. "I'm sure Kol's told you about the daggers. 2010 - they were all awake and together for the first time since the 11th century. They threw a ball to convince us that they weren't any kind of threat. I think it was Elijah that insisted on the photograph."

It was all the more impressive for the fact that all five siblings were smiling, despite their mutual mistrust of each other at the time.

Freya sniffed, touching Finn's face with one trembling finger. "I never got a chance to see him as an adult. He grew up so handsome."

"I'm so sorry," Caroline whispered.

"It's not your fault," Freya said flatly. "Kol told me what happened. I couldn't condemn you and your family for protecting yourselves, any more than I could condemn my family for protecting themselves." She gave Caroline a watery smile. "Especially not when those two groups have joined as one."

Caroline returned the smile. "I'll give you a bit of privacy to sort yourself out. Maddi gave us your measurements, so you do have something to change into if you like. Is there anything I can do in the meantime?"

Freya started to shake her head, but seemed to think better of it. "You're a mother."

"I am," Caroline confirmed.

"And you're clearly a better mother than mine was," Freya continued.

Caroline smiled. "Thank you, but the bar is pretty low there."

"True," Freya conceded. "How are you with mother hugs?"

Caroline opened her arms in response and Freya melted into them, just as the tears began to fall, finally allowing herself to grieve for the life she should have had, the mothers that Esther and Dahlia could have been, and the long passage of time that had taken so much away from her.

* * *

The last thing Matt remembered was seeing Davina crumple to the floor, overwhelmed by magic, before Dahlia strode in and waved her hand.

A sharp pain in his neck, then … nothing.

The first thing he saw was Rebekah's eyes, wet with tears. "Who died?" He managed to croak out.

Rebekah made a strange noise that sounded as though she had tried to laugh, but had too many tears stored up to make it work properly. "You did! And I'll thank you not to scare me like that again."

Matt blinked a few times, trying to make sense of everything.

He could hear murmured voices, footsteps, and a strange thumping sound.

"Who's drumming?"

Now Rebekah laughed, wiping away the rest of her tears, and lifted his hand to her chest. "No one."

The thumping was in time with her heart-beat - slower than a human's, but still there all the same.

Matt struggled to sit up and she tucked a pillow behind him. Now he could see the rest of their bedroom, he realised that they were alone, which meant the voices and footsteps had to be coming from the rest of the house.

And there was a mug on the bedside table.

It smelled amazing.

"I'm in transition," he said flatly. "Aren't I?"

Rebekah nodded, her mirth slowly fading. "Are you okay?"

"Well, I still say you draining me after a night of amazing sex would have been better," Matt said, finally smiling at her.

"I told you," Rebekah said, rolling her eyes, "that's a really slow way to die. I would have snapped your neck. Although I am glad I didn't have to."

"Don't say that," Matt said. "I really don't want to owe your Aunt Dahlia a favour."

Rebekah snorted. "Calling her that makes her sound like she's jut a really annoying maiden aunt who turns up every now and then and judges everyone for the life choices she never had the guts to make."

Matt laughed. "I'd prefer it if that's what she was. I'm guessing she's dead, then? Otherwise you wouldn't be nearly so calm." He reached for the mug. "I just drink this, right?"

Rebekah nodded. "We'll head out to the plantation house tomorrow. Caroline wants us to have a family dinner tonight, since Freya's here now."

Matt stared into the mug at the blood glinting up at him. "Is it a good idea for me to be around humans when I've just turned?"

"It's for one evening," Rebekah said gently. "We'll make sure you've fed, so you won't be hungry. And do you honestly think that we'd let you kill someone? Okay," she added hastily, before he could answer. "Kol probably would, but not any of the people in this house."

"Fair enough," Matt said. "Okay, here goes."

Rebekah watched him drain the mug, watched the dark veins skitter across his face, and felt her own veins heat in response.

Setting the mug to one side, Matt reached for her, his eyes still dark with blood, and she went willingly, sinking into his arms.

* * *

Caroline tapped on the open door, causing Kol to glance up. "How is she?"

"Unfortunately, not awake enough to put any kind of silencing spell on Bekah's room," Kol grumbled.

Caroline pulled a face. She had been trying not to listen, but now Kol had brought it up, her ears tuned in again. "Why didn't she burn any sage?"

"God knows," Kol said.

Sophie appeared in the doorway. "Caroline."

Caroline breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank God. Maddi?"

"Thierry's walking her home," Sophie said, giving her a hug. "I did invite her for dinner, but she says she wants a hot bath, some ice cream and a sitcom marathon."

Caroline smiled weakly. "I could go for that myself."

"Sophie," Kol interrupted. "Can you _please_ do me a favour and silence Rebekah's room?"

"Rebekah's …" Sophie turned red. "Oh." She murmured a few words under her breath and the noises stopped.

"Thank you," Kol said earnestly.

"No problem," Sophie said, stepping closer. "Is she okay?"

"I'm fine," Davina murmured, not opening her eyes. "Just exhausted. I used a lot of magic trying to keep Dahlia out and then she overwhelmed it."

"Do you have enough in you for one more spell?" Caroline asked. "A teeny tiny one?"

Davina smirked. "Already done. Katherine knows. Hope's coming home."


	13. Chapter 13

"Caroline, stop pacing," Sophie said. "They'll get here when they get here."

Caroline didn't pause in her eighteenth lap around the kitchen. "You know, cooking relaxes me."

"Well, I got here first," Sophie said. "Not to mention, this is kind of what I do every day and it makes me feel normal, and today I resurrected an ancient psychopathic witch in order to murder another ancient psychopathic witch, and I came up with that plan like it was a completely normal thing to do. So right now, I need normal."

Caroline sighed. "I know. I can't tell you how much I appreciate your help today, Sophie."

"They're my family too," Sophie said. "You don't need to thank me."

"How's Monique doing?" Caroline asked.

"She's okay," Sophie said. "I think she's happier with Cassie and her mother than here with me."

"With us," Caroline corrected. "I think we're the problem, not you."

"I'm not fit to be her mother," Sophie said. "I'm too young. I'm only ten years older than her."

"Elena and Jeremy's aunt was only ten years older than them," Caroline said quietly. "She managed. I just … I don't want us to be the reason your relationship goes down the drain."

"It hasn't," Sophie assured her. "She and I are brilliant. And if I was the only option, then I would manage, absolutely. But Maya Westwood was Jane-Anne's best friend, and she's offered to be Monique's guardian as long as she needs it."

"Okay," Caroline said. "I'm selfishly very glad you're here with us." She froze, a familiar engine rumbling in the street outside. "Oh thank God!"

She emerged into the street just in time to see Katherine step out of the car, with Hope in her arms.

Hope's face lit up and she reached out, almost bouncing out of Katherine's arms. "Mama! Mama! Mama!"

Caroline skidded to a halt in front of them, taking her daughter back into her arms, feeling her bury her face into her neck. "Hi sweetheart," she murmured. "Hi! I've missed you so much!" She finally looked at Katherine. "Thank you."

Katherine smiled at her. "You're very welcome. We brought you some presents."

"Aside from her, you mean?" Caroline asked.

"Oh yeah," Damon said, pulling a bag out of the trunk. "You owe us one, Barbie. Not for Hope," he added, before Katherine could argue.

"Well, come on in," Caroline said. "I'm intrigued." She led them back into the inner courtyard. "How was she?"  
"For the most part, she's been an angel," Katherine said. "Although she is an exceptionally powerful witch."

"Oh dear, what did she do?" Caroline asked, rubbing Hope's back. "What did you do, baby girl?"

Hope lifted her head with a smile. "Went bang!"

Caroline blinked. "Two new words? It's only been three weeks."

"Oh, she's got more than that," Damon said. "I think you lot understood her too easily and then she got stuck with the two of us and just decided, 'Jesus Christ, these two idiots don't know anything; I'll have to spell it out for them.' What's under the sheet?"

"Oh, don't touch that please," Caroline said hastily. "It's Esther and Dahlia. They kind of froze into ash when they died and haven't blown away yet."

"It's either going in the basement or we might try selling it to an art gallery," Klaus said.

"Dada!" Hope cried, reaching out.

Klaus beamed, blurring to Caroline's side. She reluctantly handed their daughter over, slightly mollified when Hope still held on to her sleeve with one hand.

"Hang on," Caroline said. "What did she mean, went bang?!"

"When she wanted you, she was okay," Katherine said. "When she wanted Daddy on the other hand …"

"She had a screaming fit and broke a vase," Damon finished. "Not a particularly attractive vase, but it shattered. She was fine. Found it hilarious."

"That's my girl," Klaus said.

"Nik!" Caroline protested. "I'm sorry. She didn't hurt anyone, did she?"

"No, she was a good girl," Katherine said.

"Did you bring me the pieces of the vase?" Caroline asked. "Is that what the present is?"

"No, it's this," Damon said, pulling out a piece of plastic.

"Oh, you shouldn't have," Caroline said, taking it.

"It clips on to the toilet seat," Katherine said. "Stops her from falling in."

Caroline frowned. "You know, of all the baby gifts I've been given, this may be the weirdest."

"Well, _someone_ convinced her she's a big girl so she won't use a potty," Katherine said, rolling her eyes.

"Hey, you asked me for help," Damon said.

"Yes, and what a bad idea that was," Katherine responded.

"Hang on," Caroline said. "Are you telling me that you potty-trained her?"

"Not intentionally," Damon said, sounding almost offended by the thought.

"Have you smelt her number twos?" Katherine asked. "They should come with an environmental warning - what are you feeding the poor child?"

Caroline giggled. "Sorry, I know I should be offended by that, but … did you just call them 'number twos'?"

"Oh, yeah," Damon said, with an air of sudden remembrance. "She's turned into a bit of a parrot. She will just start repeating random words."

"Parrot!" Hope cried, throwing her hands up.

Damon smiled at her. "That's right, Baby Barbie. That's what you are. We haven't taught her anything bad, but we have started a betting pool as to which one of you is going to teach her the first one."

"My money's on Kol," Katherine added.

"Not a bad guess," Klaus conceded.

"No one is teaching my baby curse words," Caroline said firmly. "How's Elijah?"

Klaus sighed. "It turns out," he said heavily, "that while I was triggering my curse, my brother also had a lapse in control. He was looking for me that day, not because he was concerned about my temper as I had believed, but because a lack of his own. And he has blamed himself for that all these years."

Caroline frowned. "But why … Oh," she whispered. "Tatia."

Klaus nodded. "Until Dahlia confronted Mother, he believed that he had been the one to kill her. I still don't think he's convinced otherwise."

Out of the corner of her eye, Caroline saw Katherine lean up to whisper something in Damon's ear. He didn't look happy, but nodded, whereupon she kissed him and stepped closer to them. "Where is he?"

Klaus looked as startled as Caroline felt. "He's in the library, but …"

"And where is that?" Katherine asked.

"Upstairs," Caroline answered blankly. "Fourth door on the right. Are you sure?"

Katherine nodded. "I'm probably the only person who can get through to him. With the exception of maybe Elena, but she's not here."

"Mama," Hope said. "Potty please."

Caroline took her back. "Katherine, can you show me how to attach this thing first?"

Katherine smiled weakly. "Not a problem."

* * *

Sure enough, Katherine found Elijah in the library, gazing out of the window with a glass of bourbon.

"You should be with your daughter, Caroline."

"And you should pay more attention to your surroundings," Katherine said.

Elijah turned, surprise clear on his face. "Katerina."

Katherine smiled tightly. "I assume there's a second glass and the rest of the bottle in here somewhere?"

"Of course," Elijah said. "Please - allow me."

"Thank you." Katherine watched him pour a second drink and took the offered glass. "I know my face is probably the last one you want to see."

Elijah's eyes hardened and he turned back to the window. "Niklaus told you."

"He told Caroline," Katherine said. "I happened to be in earshot. You didn't kill her, you know."

"That is what my brother tried to tell me," Elijah said, drowning his glass. "And I will say to you what I said to him. You were not there."

"I'm not disputing that you hurt her," Katherine said. "But you cannot have killed her."

Elijah's glass hit the wall, shattering into a thousand pieces, and Katherine flinched. A decade ago she might have run, but now she stood her ground.

"Do you feel better now?"

Elijah turned on her. "How can you say that, Katerina? I still remember my teeth sinking into her neck, her life ebbing away beneath my hands, the look my mother's face when I brought Tatia's lifeless body before her …"

"She was not dead," Katherine repeated. "And if you listen for five minutes, I'll tell you how I know that."

There was a beat of silence, while Elijah visibly composed himself.

"Very well," he said finally. "Please tell me how you can be so sure of events that happened five hundred years before you were even born."

"I'm standing here," Katherine said. "That's how I know. The Hybrid curse had to be broken with the death of the Petrova doppelgänger, because Tatia was sacrificed to place the curse. The laws of magic says she has to be sacrificed to break the curse too, but she can't die twice, so the doppelgänger curse was created on the family line. And she cannot have been sacrificed to curse Klaus if she was already dead. My guess is that your mother was healing her, or had just finished doing so, when Klaus was brought before her having triggered the curse, and she became a convenient starting point for the spell."

Elijah stared at her, slowly sinking on to the window seat. "How did I not realise that?"

"Guilt has a wonderful way of masking the truth from us," Katherine said, taking a sip of bourbon. "Not to mention the fact that your mother was dead and you didn't know half of what you know now. Why would you suspect your mother of murdering the woman you loved?"

"She still died in fear of me," Elijah whispered. "That was still likely her last conscious memory."

Katherine sighed. "Okay, move over."

Elijah obligingly shifted to one side so she could sit down.

"For a long time, I thought maybe I was going mad when I met you," Katherine said. "And then two things happened. First of all, I saw your mother for the first time, albeit from a distance, since we never actually met. And second of all, I talked to Elena. Let's start with your mother. Did it ever occur to you how strange it was that Elena, with all her compassion, didn't warn you about your mother's plan? That she willingly allowed you - someone she had a decent rapport with, if not a friendship - to put your life on the line for her own freedom?"

"I did," Elijah conceded. "Part of why I was so angry with her when I found out."

"As you had every right to be," Katherine agreed. "Do you know why she didn't warn you?"

Elijah hesitated. "I don't think she ever told me. Or, for that matter, if I ever asked."

"It's because she was scared," Katherine said quietly. "And I don't blame her. Because what she told me about the first time she saw Esther … I think she thought I'd laugh, but I felt it too. It felt like Tatia reached through a thousand years and whispered 'do as she says, or she'll kill you again'."

"Again?" Elijah repeated.

Katherine heaved a sigh. "Look, don't ask me to explain the doppelgänger thing - I am one, and I still don't understand how it works. It's one of the only times I've felt that, except then I knew what it was."

"What was the first?" Elijah asked.

"When I met you and your brother," Katherine said, "I was nineteen and naive. I was probably suffering from some kind of post-natal depression. I had no idea about vampires. And yet the morning after you offered me a roof over my head, when you two were eating the waitstaff and not bothering to hide it, I never once felt scared."

"We never compelled you," Elijah said. "We never needed to."

"I think Tatia was telling me I could trust you," Katherine admitted. "Elena said something similar. That when Rose and Trevor kidnapped her and she first met you, even though she was scared she wasn't as scared as she felt she should have been." She finally met his eyes. "You lost control. It wasn't your fault. And Tatia knew that."

There was a soft tap on the door before Elijah could respond, and Caroline poked her head round the door. "Sorry to interrupt, but apparently Hope needs a high five."

"And you're incapable of them?" Katherine asked, getting to her feet.

"I'm not enough," Caroline said with a grin. "Auntie Kat gives her a high five when she uses the big girl potty."

"Aun-ie Kat!" Hope said holding up her hand.

"Did you remember to wash your hands?" Katherine asked automatically, before shooting Caroline an apologetic look.

Hope nodded eagerly. "Uh-huh! Hi-Fi!"

"Awesome job, baby girl" Katherine said, giving her a gentle high five. "Mama's going to be doing the high fives now."

Hope pouted. "No."

Caroline sighed. "I'm going to have to face-time you every time she goes, aren't I?"

"Hey, it's a brilliant story to tell at her 21st," Katherine said.

"I suppose," Caroline said. "How are you, Elijah?"

"Fine thank you, Caroline," Elijah said. "Kater … Katherine was able to make several excellent points that Niklaus failed to make."

"Unca Lijah," Hope cried, holding out her arms.

Elijah's face lit up in the first smile Caroline had seen in weeks and she happily handed her daughter over to her uncle. "Welcome home, Hope. We've missed you so much."

* * *

Caroline convinced Katherine and Damon to stay for dinner and then the night, pointing out that Hope would handle their sudden departure from her life much better if there was some kind of transition.

(And, for all Damon's posturing, it was obvious that he would miss Hope as much as Katherine would).

Sophie quite happily added another two people to her catering list and Caroline took the opportunity to sit back with her daughter cuddled up on her lap, watching her family talk and laugh in a way she had been starting to think she would never see again.

Davina was still looking very pale, but she and Kol had pointed out that they had missed Christmas due to whole situation - something Caroline had been vaguely aware of, but hadn't really paid attention to.

Jeanette had gone out to the plantation house and returned with a Christmas tree, a box of decorations from the Christmas ball, and Josh and Aiden, who were greeted with great enthusiasm.

They were currently helping Jeanette, Adrian and Kol decorate the tree while Davina offered criticism from an armchair, since none of them would let her help.

Matt and Rebekah had finally emerged (to raucous hooting from Kol, which both ignored, much to his frustration) and were talking to Katherine and Damon, the three older vampires apparently having a good-natured debate about how best to learn blood control.

Leaning her head back, Caroline closed her eyes, focusing on her daughter's heartbeat, even as Klaus sat on the arm of the chair beside her, sliding an arm around her shoulder.

There was someone missing.

Caroline opened her eyes, letting them wander across the room, before landing at the top of the stairs. "I'll be right back," she murmured, slipping out of Klaus's embrace.

Settling Hope on her hip, Caroline made her way up to Freya's room, pausing outside when she heard muffled sobs. "Freya?" She called, tapping on the door. "Can I come in?"

There was a soft rustling noise. "Yes."

Caroline pushed the door open to find Freya at the dressing table, mopping at her eyes with a tissue. "You okay?"

Freya gave a watery smile, but didn't look up. "It's just all a bit overwhelming. The clothes are beautiful, thank you."

"Thank Rebekah for that," Caroline said. "She's a designer snob. Don't get me wrong, I like designer, but I will quite happily wear anything if I like it and it fits. I know everyone all at once is going to be overwhelming, but a quiet family dinner seems to have evolved into a belated Christmas party. Blame Kol."

"Am I underdressed?" Freya asked, finally looking up, but her concerns seemed to fizzle out. "Oh …"

"See, there it is," Caroline said with a smile. "Hope, say hi to Auntie Freya."

"Hi," Hope said obediently.

"She's talking so much now," Caroline said, running her hand through her daughter's somewhat unruly blonde curls. "And her hair's so much longer. She's been away three weeks and I feel like I missed so much. So I can't imagine what it's like for you."

Freya nodded, getting to her feet. "Well, sitting in here isn't going to rewind time. Hi sweetheart."

"Any other day she'd probably be happy for a cuddle," Caroline said. "But she's being picky today and a bit clingy with me and Nik."

"Absolutely understandable," Freya said, with the first full smile Caroline had seen. "We've got time, haven't we?"

Hope didn't reach out the way she usually did, but she did extend one arm and looked back at Caroline. "Mama, hug?"

Caroline took a step towards Freya so Hope could rest her head on Freya's shoulder, hugging her new aunt without releasing her mother.

"Oh darling," Freya murmured, pressing a kiss to her forehead. "You are perfect."

"Isn't she?" Caroline agreed, giving her a hug as well. "Now come on. You've waited this long. Let's not drag it out any further."

Arm in arm, Caroline and Freya made their way down the stairs.

Kol noticed them first, his face lighting up in a smile. As he left the others to their decorating, he caught his siblings' attention.

One by one, they rose, their eyes fixed on their oldest sister.

"Breathe," Caroline murmured. "They don't bite. Much."

Freya choked back a laugh. "Don't. I'm more likely to cry than laugh right now."

Kol met them at the bottom of the stairs. "Welcome home, Freya."

"You'll set me off," Freya warned.

"Well, we're all pretty emotional right now," Kol said, offering her his arm. "Shall we?"

Freya nodded, taking his arm with her free hand. "This is silly. I've met them before."

"Not as you, though," Kol said, as they approached the living room. "You're allowed to be nervous."

Rebekah reached them first. "I'm sorry we didn't come sooner."

"It's okay," Freya said. "It's easier when you don't know what you're losing."

Rebekah let out a choked sob and threw arms around her sister.

Caroline gently disentangled herself and returned to the armchair, where Klaus was still standing. "Go on," she said quietly. "She's nervous enough."

"Older siblings tend to be disappointed in me," Klaus murmured.

"She's just glad to be home," Caroline said, prodding him.

"Speaking of home," Klaus said, changing the subject. "What do you think about a vacation? Just the two of us?"

Caroline sighed. "That sounds lovely, but if you think I'm leaving Hope any time soon, you're mad. I can't switch gears that quickly."

"In a few months then?" Klaus suggested.

Caroline smiled. "That, I'll agree to. Now for the love of God, go and give your sister a hug."

* * *

**AN: Sure I've said this before, but I'll say it again - I am borrowing parts of the mythology from the show, but not sticking to it religiously. I know the doppelganger curse in this chapter does not fit with the revelations in season 5. **

**On saying that, the part about Elena (and Katherine) getting an instinctive feeling about Esther from Tatia has been borrowed from another fic - but still, like dust, I'll rise by twocankeepasecret - so credit where credit is due.**


	14. Chapter 14

Matt's transition, thankfully, went as smoothly as Josh's had, and he was home from the plantation house by February.

Caroline threw a huge Mardi Gras party, which spilled out from the courtyard into the streets, werewolves, vampires and witches mingling in a way that Caroline had once thought impossible.

As the weather warmed, Caroline finally felt comfortable to leave Hope with her aunts and uncles for a weekend.

The jet landed on a private airfield and Klaus ushered her immediately into a car, murmuring something to the driver that she didn't quite catch.

"Are you going to tell me where we are?" Caroline asked, checking her phone.

"Soon, love," Klaus said with a smile. "She's fine."

"I know," Caroline said with a sigh. "Doesn't stop me worrying."

As though Rebekah had read her mind, her phone buzzed with a picture message - Hope giggling away as Kol and Davina apparently had some kind of food fight.

_Enjoy your weekend. Stop worrying._

Caroline smiled, tucking her phone away. "Alright, I'm all yours. Seriously, where are we? You know how much I like planning things."

"I do," Klaus agreed. "And I'm sure we'll come back one day with Hope, and you can plan that one to your heart's content. Just trust me this weekend."

"I trust you," Caroline said. "Wherever we are, you've definitely been here more than me. I've never actually left the States."

The car pulled to a stop and Klaus got out, rounding the car to open Caroline's door for her. She took his hand with a smile and stepped out into the shadow of a huge structure. She tilted her head back to see what it was and her mouth fell open.

"Welcome to Paris," Klaus said with a smile.

"That's the Eiffel Tower," Caroline said blankly.

"Yes, it is," Klaus said, amusement clear in his voice. "Happy?"

"Uh, yes?" Caroline said, breaking out into a smile. "I've always wanted to visit Paris! Can we go to the top?"

"It's a bit of a let-down," Klaus warned, "but we're going to do it anyway."

* * *

The day was a whirlwind of sightseeing - they had flown overnight and landed fairly early - and by the time they arrived at the hotel in the evening, even Caroline was a little tired.

Klaus said a few words in French to the concierge, who nodded and showed them to a small elevator, which took them straight up to the penthouse suite.

"I cannot believe you put a painting of me in the Louvre and didn't tell me," Caroline said, slipping her shoes off.

Klaus smirked. "I have to keep you on your toes, love."

Caroline would have made some kind of retort, but she was too busy looking around the suite. "I should probably tell you," she said, "that growing up, our idea of luxury on vacation was a motel with a working shower."

Klaus wrinkled his nose. "Well, I'm sure there is something to be said for the experiences."

"It was some of the best fun I had with my mom," Caroline conceded, sitting down on the edge of the bed. "I'm not sure I have the energy to go out for dinner, but if we are, please tell me you packed me an evening gown, because I didn't."

"I thought as much," Klaus said. "We're not going out, don't worry. What did you think of the Eiffel Tower?"

Caroline thought for a moment. "It was amazing, but you were right - it was a bit of a let-down. I'm not sure why."

"Well, the most iconic sight of the skyline is the Tower," Klaus pointed out, "which you can't see from the Tower itself."

"I guess you're right," Caroline said. "I'm glad I did it though, so thank you for humouring me. Also, if you'd told me where we were going and asked me to make a list of everything I wanted to see, you guessed every single one of them and still managed to surprise me. So thank you for that as well."

Klaus held out a hand to her, and she took it, allowing him to pull her to her feet again. "Caroline, you should know by now that I would do anything for you. Let me show you something." He led her to the window and pulled back the curtains to reveal a balcony, with a small table set for dinner.

But it was the view that took Caroline's breath away. The streets of Paris stretched out beneath them, lit up in the dark night, including the Eiffel Tower a few blocks away.

"Oh wow …" she murmured, as he guided her to the table, pulling out the chair for her.

Someone must have been compelled in the hotel, because alongside the champagne on ice were two cocktails that clearly contained blood.

Caroline took a sip and raised her eyebrow. "Okay, I'm going to need one of these every day now."

"As you wish, love," Klaus said mildly.

As they ate, they chatted about everything they had done that day, especially the special tour of the Louvre he had given her.

Caroline was fairly sure it was the closest to an actual date they had ever been on.

Finally, the plates were cleared and Klaus topped up both of their glasses. "Do you know what today is, love?"

Caroline paused with her glass halfway to her lips. "Okay, I am very good at remembering anniversaries and I am fairly sure today isn't one."

Klaus chuckled. "Not quite, love. Two years ago today, you told me you were pregnant."

Caroline thought about it. "Wow … you're right. I hadn't even realised."

"You didn't really give me much of a chance to speak," Klaus said. "Did you do that on purpose?"

Caroline smiled a little sheepishly. "Perhaps. I knew your initial reaction would be to worry about her motives and that you'd say something you'd regret later."

"Well, I do appreciate that, love," Klaus said with a sigh. "Oddly enough, it wasn't something I ever thought I'd hear."

"No, I should think not," Caroline said.

"In a thousand years, I have never met anyone who understands me the way you do," Klaus said.

"You see, when you say things like that, I find it hard to believe," Caroline said, getting up to wander over to the balcony. "Are you sure you just never let anyone in?"

"Well, that is true," Klaus conceded, following her. "But I also never met someone who intrigued me the way you do. Most people, if their life was in my hands, would be trying to stay on my good side, not insulting me."

Caroline smiled. "Well, I was dying anyway. Also, I didn't believe for one second that the fact that it was someone's birthday would keep you from killing them if you wanted them dead. I figured that you were going to try and make some kind of bargain."

"I was," Klaus admitted. "Something about you drew me in, hence just giving you the blood. And you haven't stopped surprising me since. Although I am curious, love - last December, when I went to speak to Elijah, and you woke Freya up, you introduced yourself as Hope's mother."

"As opposed to …?" Caroline asked.

"My …" Klaus trailed off. "You may have a point."

Caroline smiled. "Girlfriend sounds wrong. Partner makes me think of a western. Or a buddy cop movie."

Klaus chuckled. "I see where you're coming from."

"How do you refer to me?" Caroline asked curiously.

Klaus cupped her face. "My Queen."

"Yes, but my ego isn't as big as yours," Caroline said teasingly.

Klaus smiled. "My better half."

"I'll give you that one," Caroline murmured, leaning in to kiss him.

"I hope you realise," Klaus said when they parted, "that I would move time and space for you should you wish it."

"And I hope you realise that I'd rather time and space stay exactly where they are," Caroline said with a smile. "All I ask is for you to love me."

"I think it may now be impossible for me to do anything else," Klaus said, reaching into his pocket, "but there is something I must ask of you."

For a second, Caroline braced herself, but then he presented her with a small black box, and her breath caught in her throat. "Oh god …"

"I spent a thousand years trying to break a curse because I thought it would bring me peace," Klaus said. "It didn't. And then there was you. The ancient Greeks believed that all people once possessed two heads, four arms, four legs and one heart, and that the gods split them in two for fear of their power. They said that we spend the rest of our lives trying to find our other half. I never believed it until a few years ago. You are my other half, Caroline - my better half. Would you do me the honour of agreeing to be my wife?"

Caroline couldn't speak, her voice caught in her throat, and she nodded. "Yes," she said finally. "Yes of course."

* * *

They were greeted upon their return by Liz and the rest of the Mystic Falls gang, and Rebekah's meticulously planned engagement party.

Over the next few weeks, Caroline returned to wedding planning as spring bloomed around her. The spectre of Dahlia still lingered, not helped by the exceptionally creepy statue still in their basement, but Caroline relished in taking Hope out to the park without having to constantly look over her shoulder.

On this particular day, the weather was bright and sunny, and Caroline had been sat on the park bench with a notebook, half wedding planning and half watching Hope running around. She knew that Josh and Aiden were nearby, and she wouldn't have been at all surprised if several of the others had appeared as well if something happened.

Finally, Hope ran over to her. "Mama, hungry please."

Caroline smiled, putting her book down. "How about some yoghurt?"

"Yay!" Hope cried, clapping her hands.

"Alright, let's pop you in the stroller," Caroline said. "I don't want to be wearing it."

Hope _loved_ yoghurt. Unfortunately, she loved it so much that she tended to wave her arms around when she was being fed, which occasionally led to it getting splattered all over the place. She squirmed a little, but let Caroline strap her in, before pulling out the lunch bag from underneath.

While she fed her daughter, Caroline caught sight of a woman with double-stroller heading towards her, accompanied by the unmistakable sound of a crying baby.

"Excuse me?" The woman called when she was close enough. "Do you know if there's a family bathroom nearby?"

"Not in this park," Caroline answered. "I think the nearest is two blocks over. You're welcome to the other half of the bench if you've got a mat."

The woman sighed in relief. "Bless you. Hold on, sweetheart."

"More please," Hope said.

"That's all baby girl," Caroline said, showing her the empty pot. "You've finished it."

"Please?" Hope asked.

Caroline sighed and handed her the pot. "Go ahead."

"How old is she?" Her companion asked, setting up next to her.

"She'll be two on December 8th," Caroline said.

"That's the day I was due," she said. "Mine will be one November 28th. Oh, don't do that."

The other baby had started crying as well now.

"I swear," the woman sighed, "they set each other off."

Caroline grimaced in sympathy, taking the offered yoghurt pot back from Hope. "Satisfied?"

"Empty," Hope said with a sigh.

"It is," Caroline said. "And now you're all messy."

"Mama," Hope said, while Caroline wiped her face. "Who that?"

"That's an excellent question," Caroline said with a smile.

The woman laughed. "I'm so sorry. We seem to have jumped straight to babies and diapers! My name's Jo."

"Caroline," she said. "And this is Hope. Okay, out you get sweetheart."

As soon as Hope was free, she went to look into the other stroller. "Baby!"

"That's right," Jo said, still trying to soothe one child while changing the other. "That's Elizabeth. And this is Josie."

"Hope, be gentle," Caroline warned.

Hope looked at her. "They play?"

"I think they're a bit too young to play," Caroline said. She caught sight of Josh and Aiden across the grass. "Uncle Josh and Uncle Aiden are over there, look - I'm sure they'll play with you."

"Yay!" Hope took off toddling in their direction.

Jo laughed. "Is it bad that I'm dreading these two walking?"

"Well, I'm exhausted and there's only one of her," Caroline said. "You're not on your own, are you?"

"Oh, no, my fiancé's around here somewhere," Jo said. "He's due to start teaching at Tulane in September, so he's over there sorting some things out. We're getting married next April."

"Congratulations," Caroline said. "Hope's dad and I are getting married next May."

"At least we're not the only ones doing things in the wrong order," Jo said with a sigh, picking Josie up.

"Hey, you do things in your own time," Caroline said, already trying to figure out how she could make sure that none of the vampires mistook her or her fiance for tourists. "I'm guessing you're new to New Orleans?"

"Very," Jo said. "We left my family in Oregon. We have an … odd history."

Caroline laughed. "Yeah, I know how that goes. Well, if you ever want a tour of the bits that aren't the tourist traps, let me know."

"That sounds amazing," Jo said, waving at someone behind them. "That took less time than I thought."  
"What does he teach?" Caroline asked, bending down to scoop Hope up as she ran back over.

"Occult and mythology studies," Jo answered. "It's a niche subject."

"It'll be popular round here," Caroline said.

"That's the hope," Jo said. "Hi honey - Caroline's offered to give us a tour of the city."

Caroline turned to greet Jo's fiancé, only to freeze in her tracks, her arms automatically tightening around her daughter.

"… Ric?"

* * *

**AN: And that's all, folks! I'm in the process of writing the sequel, which is as yet unnamed - so keep an eye out for that. **

**I'm also toying with the idea of having a collection of 'missing scenes' - bits that didn't make it into the main stories but could still be written - so if there is anything I've passed over that you'd like to read, please let me know in the comments.**


	15. Sequel up!

The sequel, Traction, has been uploaded as a crossover between TVD and the Originals, because this one is kind of split between New Orleans and Mystic Falls


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